


Fix Me

by DarkAngel199



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Romance, Self-Acceptance, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 73,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24358666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAngel199/pseuds/DarkAngel199
Summary: Sirius is a young man with a somewhat mysterious past, without knowing who his parents are or where he comes from,  he was raised in Mystacor by Castaspella, wishing to become the best sorcerer of all time, but unable to control his abilities. After an unfortunate accident Sirius is sent to Bright Moon where he befriends Bow and Glimmer, eventually Adora. Join Sirius as he discovers his past, fights alongside his friends against the Horde, and finds love in the least expected place.Set during season 4
Relationships: Double Trouble (She-Ra)/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just finished season 5 of She-Ra and I can tell you it was the best thing I've seen, and well, my favorite character is Double Trouble, so I said to myself, why not? Let's make a fanfic about them, and here I am.
> 
> Well, my first language is NOT English, so I apologize if you see any mistakes, I will try to make as few mistakes as possible, I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Disclaimer: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is developed by Noelle Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television. The only character that belongs to me is Sirius.

Man, what a freaking headache… Yesterday was a lot awful than I thought it will be, and today I had to wake up earlier because Glimmer asked for our presence… You’re trying to guess who am I, right? I am Sirius, a 19-year-old royal guard. In short, I am one of Glimmer and Bow’s best friends, when we met Adora our whole life took a 360 ° turn, she is the legendary She-ra, thanks to her we have the opportunity to be able to overcome the Horde, days ago we went through a catastrophe and now Glimmer was the queen of Bright Moon, it’s a very sad, but there was nothing we could do about it.

I groaned as I pressed my head against the meeting table, I’m so tired… I wanna go to sleep, why can’t I go to sleep? I could hear from where I was how Adora asked where Glimmer was… I groaned once again and closed my eyes, I will take advantage of these moments to rest for a while, I relaxed against the table, but was interrupted by the cry of surprise from Adora and Bow that made me settle back in my chair. It seems Glimmer had arrived just in time.

“You’re all here, Good, just one second” and without letting Adora talk to her, she disappeared once again. I groaned again.

“Oh, I see, she... she’s really taking this queen stuff seriously” I heard Huntara talk, but I couldn’t care less what she said, so I didn’t pay mind to what she said.

“Guys, I really want to go back to sleep… so…” I was interrupted by Glimmer appearing once again in the room with Mermista, I sighed deeply and ran my hand over my face, trying to calm myself down. Glimmer began to talk about her plan to send Adora, Bow, Huntara, Mermista and me on a mission to the Crimson Waste to retrieve Mara's ship so Bow could repair it, I will totally agree with her plans, but this had a little inconvenient, and before I could say so, Adora stepped in, interrupting Glimmer.

Adora spoke, “Uh… Glimmer”

“What?” the pink haired girl responded.

“The Crimson Waste is a desert…? Doesn’t Mermista needs like water to use her powers?” I could only smile when I saw Glimmer's face realizing that what Adora was saying was true, while Mermista zipped on his… whatever it was…

“Ohhh… Good point, be right back” and she disappeared once again, taking Mermista with her. I really wish I were in my bed right now, instead of this uncomfortable chair…

“She’s gonna do that all the time now?” Huntara asked while trimming her nails.

“Oh definitely” Adora responded.

“Guys, I’m gonna go and take a nap in my room, just go find me when Glimmer solves this and it’s time to go to the mission” I said as I got up from the chair and stretched my arms. Without waiting for their answers, I left the room as fast as I could and started walking towards my room.

I entered my room calmly and closed behind me, my room was a mess, it was full of spell books ... and other types of books... Since our last battle against the horde I was feeling completely useless ... I have always wanted to learn sorcery, but everyone told me that I couldn’t do it anymore, but not because someone tells me that I can’t do it, I’m going stop trying. I dropped into bed without removing the books that lay scattered on it, I needed to at least sleep a few minutes before going to the damn mission, but just before I could fall asleep, my bedroom door was thrown wide open by no other than Adora, Bow and Glimmer.

“I´m sorry you couldn’t rest Sirius…” began talking Glimmer, I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was sorry she had to interrupt my sleep, but I couldn’t care less, this mission was truly important.

“It’s okay Glimmer, the fastest we end, the fastest I can go back to sleep” I got out of bed and shook my clothes. I felt a little dizzy, but decided not to pay attention to the feeling, maybe it was just something momentary, it will surely go away with time.

“Sirius is right” Adora said cheerfully.

“Yeah, let’s end this quick” agreed Bow. I smiled at their words and without waiting any longer we headed towards the Crimson Waste.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I… hate ... the ... sand, I groaned for the tenth time, of all the places that ship could have fallen, did it have to fall here? This heat is killing me, I could hear Perfuma's voice behind me, but I decided not to pay attention to whatever she was talking about, this heat was frying my head. I ran my hand through my black hair carefully so I would not uncover my right eye, through which ran a scar that went from my eyebrow to my cheek, a wound that I had received when I was very young and had left me blind from that eye .. a spell that went wrong, that’s the reason I’m not allowed to do magic anymore. I sighed.

“Hey, Sirius, are you sure you are okay?” Bow asked, I looked at him and smiled. Bow always worries about me, whenever I felt bad, he is the one that notices that I feel bad. It’s quite funny, he is a good friend.

“Don’t worry about it, this heat is just a little too much for me, I’m fine, thanks for worrying about me” I said calmly to reassure him… Actually, I felt a little dizzy, but I couldn't let a simple dizziness slow us down, surely it would be much better when we reach the ship. Bow's worried look remained the same way on his face, he seemed to notice that it wasn’t just the heat what was making me feel bad. Suddenly both Adora and Huntara ran pass us, making us stop.

“what just happened?” I asked, I heard Bow sigh as I began walking again, following Adora and Huntara’s footsteps, suddenly I heard Perfuma’s scream, so I turned around to see what was going on. It appears that Bow had thrown water at Perfume with one of his new special arrows.

“I’m trying to expand my arsenal with new tech, what do you think?” he asked proudly, I shook my head wearily and laughed softly, typical Bow.

What surprised me the most was Perfuma's response, “why would you have an arrow for this, it just seem that there are easier ways!!” she sounded so annoyed, I turned around and went on my way without waiting for them, I didn't want to be a point of attack for the girl's bad mood. I’m not that good at dealing with girls, I’m a man of few words.

“Well it seems that I’m not the only one with a bad mood right now” I whispered to no one. In front of me Huntara and Adora where having the competition of their lives. Once I went down the hill towards the hole where the ship should be, such was my surprise to see that it was no longer there. Well, I went through all this damn heat for nothing, great.

“Well, this makes things a lot more complicated…” I said, I looked beside me at Adora, who was panting, trying to recover her breath. I stroked her back to help her catch her breath while looking back at the hole in front of us. The Horde, I’m sure it was them… They’re always messing up our plans…

“I can’t believe the Horde took the ship” Adora panted “Also… I could have run more”

I rolled my eyes as Adora regained her posture and I pulled my hand away from her back.

“or it could have been any number of Crimson Waste scavengers” commented Huntara “and I could have run more” Huntara mocked Adora, It was understandable, while Adora struggled to catch her breath, Huntara was in perfect condition and without a drop of sweat adorning her face. I rolled my eyes again and moved closer to the hole, ignoring the other members of the group, from one moment to the next I could hear Bow's pad ringing, I’m sure it was Glimmer. I looked towards the others and I could see Adora making all kind of signals to Bow… well this is not the strangest thing that she has done so it was fine. I’m used to it.

Once I saw Bow hang up, I approached them again, “what are we gonna do? The ship is gone, we can’t go back empty handed” I commented.

“It’s all in the sand” Huntara said. I saw her kneel down and take a handful of sand in her hands and then lick the sand. A chill ran down my spine and I couldn't help but grimace at what she had done. Not wanting to know what she wanted to achieve by doing that, I moved away from the group and approached the marks on the ground, how the hell didn’t I see this before…? They had dragged the ship across the entire desert, we could use this to guide us.

I turned around and I could see that this time it was Adora who was on the ground licking the sand. “Ummmm… I don’t want to know… Guys, how about these?” I said, loud enough so they would pay attention to me.

“We could also… you know… just follow these” Bow said pointing to the path where I was, while Adora tried to remove the residue of sand from her tongue, and with that we begin our arduous journey to wherever the ship has been taken. I had stayed behind the group; the heat was seriously making me delirious... it was exceedingly difficult for me to keep my mind sane at the moment. Following them was getting a little more complicated than I thought...

“The Valley of the lost, it’s a smugglers heaven and my home” I heard Huntara said proudly, at least we will no longer be exposed to the sun, but we might get robbed.

When we entered the town, I stayed close to Adora and Bow, this place really gave me a bad feeling, it felt like someone was watching me every second. The heat had exhausted me and now I couldn't concentrate at all. Smugglers, thieves, rats, underground fights, this place was full of bad vibes... A dizziness suddenly hit me hard enough that I had to lean against a wall until the dizziness disappeared, such was my surprise when I regained my composure when I saw that the others were nowhere to be seen. I looked around hastily trying to spot the others somewhere, but it seemed that they had disappeared.

“Damn it” I had to find them, something could go wrong, I should be there with them, I took a step forward and felt like I was getting dizzy once again. I walked a few steps to an alley and leaned against the wall. It was a bad idea to have come, I should have told the others that I felt bad and that I couldn’t come... I’m always this useless… they didn’t need me at all… I can’t do anything! I groaned.

“You don’t seem so good, darling” I took out my spear as soon as I heard the voice and pointed it towards it, in front of me was a reptilian-elf being with light green skin and a slender build with somewhat broad shoulders. Also very tall, with large, slanted, almond-shaped eyes with dark green scleras, chartreuse irises and slitted pupils, small eyebrows, and long, slicked-back, pale blond hair which is shaved into an undercut style at the sides, where it is colored light green, pointed teeth and a long tail stemming from the base of their spine. Gorgeous… I blushed at the thought.

“Oh, watch it darling, I don’t bite... unless you ask me to” I blushed instantly, I retracted my spear which became a small cylinder that I placed on my belt, looking straight at the reptilian in front of me.

“Who are you?” I asked, the reptilian simply took a few gentle steps closer to me.

“The name is Double Trouble, darling” their moves where soft but seductive, what am I saying, I just met them, I can’t be thinking about this right now, my friends need me, I can’t keep losing my time with them.

“I gotta go” I whispered. I had only taken about three steps before being stopped by that seductive voice right behind me.

“Oh, careful darling, you seem like you’re about to faint, have this, and don’t worry it’s not poisoned” they tossed me a bottle of what I suspected was water, but you could never know. I looked at them, a smile was plastered on their face.

“why are you helping me? you don’t even know me” I said suspiciously, maybe they were working with the Horde and they were trying to drug me, or even worse, kill me, I couldn’t trust them.

“Because you’re pretty cute, darling” they laughed, pointy fangs showing… I smiled a little, a group of horde scum ran pass the alley and I sighed, I had to find them… I turned around to thank them, but they were nowhere to be found… Was I just hallucinating? I looked at the bottle in my hands and sighed, guess I wasn’t. Should I take a risk? I looked at the bottle in my hand, I was thirsty, and this will surely help me… I don’t have any other option, it’s the water or fainting in the middle of this alley, I took some water from the bottle and sighed with joy, I felt the force return to my body, apparently, they hadn’t lied to me and I’m grateful the didn’t, now let’s find my friends…

I finished the water bottle calmly and started running in the direction the Horde scum had gone, maybe that way I could find the others, or they could even take me to where the ship would be. I was running careful not to be discovered by any of the soldiers, but they were everywhere, I turned a corner and there they were, I tried to go down an alley and at the end they were there. If this continued, I wouldn’t be able to find the others anytime soon. I stopped dead in track when I saw that the soldiers weren’t taking me anywhere near to find the others, I was wasting my time, or at least that's what I thought until I heard Perfuma's voice saying that she hated cacti.

The voice seems to be coming from a collapsed stall covered by several brown rags, a good place to hide while all the fuss was passing. I subtly approached where I supposed the others should be and moved one of the rags to look inside, in fact, they were there, I smiled relieved. I was so glad they were all okay… Well almost all of them.

“Hey, guys, why the sore mood?” they all looked at me in surprised, I stepped completely into de hideout and smiled at them, they also seemed relieved to see me.

“Sirius, we were so worried about you, where were you?” Adora asked, I scratched the back of my neck a little nervous, I didn’t want to tell them I was feeling a little off, so…

“I… got lost” I whispered, well, I wasn’t a lie… I guess… Everyone looked at me in disbelief as I softly laughed somewhat embarrassed. Luckily for me, everyone's attention turned to Bow, his pad was ringing again. Thanks Glimmer…

“Did you seriously hang up on me?” said Glimmer with annoyance.

“Yeah, but just because we were running from the Horde, and now we are hiding from the Horde” Well… Glimmer sure had a good timing, Adora slidded closer toward Bow, to look at the Pad, “Also the Horde has Mara’s ship” Bow confessed and Adora groaned at him, well done Bow. I sat down next to Perfuma and I could see how she looked somewhat decayed, so I decided to start helping her remove what seemed to be cactus thorns, she smiled at me gratefully and I returned the smile.

“You okay Perfuma?” I asked.

She sighed, “I guess, I just don’t like cacti at all…” I smiled a little and placed my hand on her shoulder softly, so I wouldn’t hurt her any more than she already was.

“Are you okay? You seemed a little down when we were on the desert” she asked, concerned about my well-being.

“Well… I was feeling a little off, but…” I remembered Double Trouble and blushed a little “after resting for a while I feel much better now…” I turned my eyes to Bow and Adora, the latter looked somewhat worried, what I heard from the conversation, it seems that Glimmer was on the way to help us, but we shouldn’t waste more time than we had already lost.

“We can’t wait for Glimmer; the Horde is probably going to take the ship or whatever they can get from it back to the Fright zone” Adora explained.

“I think I know how to find it” Bow commented “We’ll use this” He pulled out a red jacket from behind him with a Horde badge. We all looked at each other in confusion, what did he wanted to do with that stuff…? “Horde badges have tracking devices built in, that’s how they found Catra when we… kidnap her, I can hack into their system and see where all the Horde soldiers are, in the valley, They’re sure to be with the ship…” he explained while proceeding to do the hacking. Bow was amazing in this kind of stuff… “and there’s our ship” we all approached Bow to see where the ship was.

“Bow, you are a genius” I said, a smile plastered on my face as I looked down at the pad in Bow hands.

We hurried to where the pad pointed and stopped when we saw that the ship was hidden in a gap in the ground, it was going to be a little difficult for us to get it out of there. I sat on one of the rocks while Adora approached the cliff careful not to be seen by any of the horde soldiers.

“I have a plan, but it’s gonna depend on you Perfuma” informed Adora, looking back at Perfuma, who was sitting over a rock embracing her legs.

“we should probably come up with a different plan then” she responded, I sighed, I didn’t like seeing Perfuma like this, she was always cheerful.

“Perfuma you are really strong, you just gotta believe in yourself” I said, trying to comfort her, I know sometimes things can seem difficult, but you should never give up.

Adora sighed “come on Perfuma, you’re one of the strongest people I know, if you hadn’t come to my rescue when the battle of Bright Moon, I wouldn’t even be here right now”

“Or me, you rescued me from the Fright zone” said Bow

“But we are not in the Fright zone, we’re here and I’m just a useless flower girl” she responded. I sighed.

“No, you’re not, I have been wrong about a lot, I was wrong to leave my home, I was wrong about Grox and I hope I’m wrong about you, because we need your help” It seems that Huntara is very good at giving motivational talks.

“You want my help?” Perfuma asked doubtfully, Huntara held out a hand and with a big smile Perfuma took Huntara's hand and laughed lightly. Now this is the Perfuma I wanted to see.

“For the honor of Grayskull” exclaimed Adora, as she transformed into the mighty, She-ra.

The plan was easy, Perfuma and Huntara will go to the ship while Bow, Adora and I would distract the soldiers, I jumped to one of the wooden bridges where there were two soldiers and without waiting for them to react I hit them both with my spear and I threw them off the bridge, what bad reflexes these soldiers had. Several soldiers came running towards where I was and with a quick movement I pushed them off the bridge, it happened so fast that I didn’t notice how one of the soldiers approached me from behind until I heard the sound of a scream, I turned and saw the soldier fall to the ground, I looked up and thanked Bow with a soft shake of my head.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see how Catra was launching towards She-ra, but I was sure that she could deal with Catra, my job now was to get rid of all the soldiers, or at least bring them towards me so that Perfuma and Huntara could get the ship without inconveniences. Thanks to the bottle of water that Double Trouble had given me I felt much better, thanks to them I could fight better, and I didn't feel dizzy at all ... if I ever see them again, I will thank them and maybe ask them out in a dinner…

I looked down to where the ship was, there was still no movement, suddenly roots began to lift the ship and out of the walls. Perfuma's power was impressive. “Yes” I whispered as I pushed two soldiers off the bridge I was on, I ran across the bridge and leaped toward another, intercepting a group of soldiers heading towards the ship. “Going somewhere?” I asked in a mocking tone, they pointed their weapons at me, and I quickly impulse myself up with my spear jumping so I could get behind them and then I pushed them off the bridge.

The ship started to rise with the help of the roots and many more roots started to come out of the walls, causing some rocks to fly out and destroy the bridges, dodge several of the rocks and I was out of the place smashed before being crushed by any of those rocks. I watched in amazement as Adora removed the stones that had fallen on the ship and how the roots now pushed the ship faster, while Adora destroyed any rock that threatened to fall back on the ship.

“Hell Yeah!” I screamed as I saw that the ship was now fully outside, we had succeeded in our mission. I ran towards the others with a smile and just when I arrived Glimmer appeared in a pose of battle covered by a piece of kelp.

“Heeey, you didn’t save any bad guys for me, I made it here as soon as I could, I only got a little lost… in the ocean… Aww, you should’ve waited for me” said Glimmer, sounding a little upset.

Adora responded, “Sorry, but we did get the ship, your first mission as queen is a success” I smiled a little and noticed something from the corner of my eye… There were some small turquoise spots on the floor ... they were small enough that they would go unnoticed... I could hear the others talk behind me, but I was more focused in discovering what the hell where these little dots… I shook my head slightly hearing the laughter of the others, maybe it was nothing, I though while approaching the others. I can finally go back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flutterina

A few yards from me, I could hear clearly how Bow and Adora spoke enthusiastically to Glimmer through the pad, telling her about our recent mission, even Swift Wind had joined them in their conversation, while I simply read under the shade of a tree. Today's mission had been much easier than I thought, and what’s better than a good book to be able to relax for a while. I watched from the corner of my eyes as they began to walk and I got up from my place, shaking my pants from any trace of dirt while putting away the book in the hidden pocket of my cloak, we had to attend the celebration dinner that the townspeople had prepared us, for having helped them. I kept walking when they stopped in the middle of the road and stopped once I was by their side, just at the same time as Swift Wind approached us exclaiming that people loved us because we saved Elberon and that’s why they were throwing us a celebratory dinner. This horse is noisy…

“a dinner… that sounds fun” Glimmer laughed uncomfortable.

“Oh…it-it’s really not a big deal” Adora pushed Swift Wind’s face away so he wouldn’t say anything else that would make Glimmer feel bad.

“Don’t worry Glimmer, it’s not that big, it’s just a simple dinner” I tried to comfort her, feeling a little iffy, I didn’t want to make Glimmer feel left out, she deserved to be here, but all those meetings and duties she had now as the queen were taking all her time.

“Yeah, I mean, I bet they do this for everyone” Bow supported me. I nodded at Glimmer.

“You guys, of course they wanna thank you, you free the whole town from Horde control, I just…” she sighed, and we looked at each other before looking back again at the pad.

“Well, if you need us, we can totally skip out on this dinner thing” Adora proposed.

“Yeah, we can have our own celebratory dinner at Bright Moon with you” I said, Glimmer looked at me and softly smiled, but that smile suddenly turned into a deep frown.

“No way, go enjoy your victory” Sometimes Glimmer could be very cute, I looked at the screen with resignation, I wish that Glimmer would be here with us, even if I don't like parties so much, that's why I always run away from going to the Princess Prom. Too much drama for me in those parties… Last time they ended up being kidnapped!

“Great because I’m famished, are we going now?” I groaned in annoyance while closing my eyes. Sometimes Swift Wind could be very irritating... We are trying to cheer up our friend and he keeps making this type of comments.

“You really aren’t missing anything, you know, we will just drop by for a little while to be polite and then head home” Bow explained as we walked once again towards what appeared to be one big lounge.

“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be super boring” as we opened the door confetti exploded out of nowhere, scarring the living shit out of us.

“Holly Etheria…” I whispered; this is not just a simple dinner! It’s a freaking party! We were met by cheering and applause from the townspeople, I couldn’t focus on anything else than the people in front of me. Adora and Bow said goodbye to Glimmer and I simply walked dubiously aside from them. The music was impressive and the dance was also impressive, I was fascinated by everything around me, some girls surrounded me and began to offer me different types of sweets, I accepted a cup with what seemed to be a violet liquid that had a sweet aroma, the blessing of being handsome, or so Glimmer and the others say, I really didn’t wanted to be surrounded by anyone... it made me feel embarrassed, nevertheless I felt in peace, all these happy people, children laughing and playing, made me feel at ease.

“Am I the only one who feels so in peace right now?” I whispered beside Adora, Bow and Swift Wind. I couldn’t take away my eyes from the townspeople in front of us while they organized everything.

“It’s a party” Adora said unbelievingly.

It’s a big party” followed Bow.

“It’s a massive party” I whispered once again, looking at the townspeople.

“and it’s for us!” Adora exclaimed.

“It’s a big party for us!” Bow said, okay, now I’m worried about them, I looked straight at them with a raised eyebrow, well I can understand them a little, we never had something like this before, it was absolutely amazing. But as I said before, I'm not a huge fan of parties, so I slowly slipped away without straying too far from them before they came to thank us. I'm also not good at dealing with new people, as I said before I don’t enjoy being surrounded by people, I'm very reserved. Suddenly confetti canyons went off as I was drinking from the cup, almost making me drown, I coughed a little and decided that it was better if I don’t drink or eat anything right now… I was still on edge after the fight we had with those bots.

I felt how someone jerked me back to my friends and hugged me tight out of nowhere “And the courageous Royal Guard, Sirius” I was soon released from the strong embrace, now I definitely can’t escape, I laughed a little, there goes my plan of going unnoticed in this party…

“we heard stories of your victories, but to see you destroy those bots in person mmmmhhh… Amazing” the woman said. I scratched the back of my neck a little embarrassed at her words. Suddenly a little pink fairy-like girl appeared in front of us.

“That's nothing compared to when She-ra took on the monsters of the northern ridge or when she single-handedly won the battle of Bright Moon” she said enthusiastically, how can such a little girl have such big amount of energy… Well… she’s kind of cute, for an instant Double Trouble's face appeared in my head, I quickly shook my head trying to get that thought out of my head as I blushed. Why would I think about them right now…?

“Oh, I wouldn’t say single-handedly, I mean… I guess… “Adora said while scratching the back of her neck “I guess I played kind of an important part” I rolled my eyes slightly and laughed a little, she was clearly enjoying the attention of the girl.

“Kind of important?” little fairy asked indignantly, “Try huge!!! You fought at the Horde, united the princesses and you saved Etheria, and you are… the coolest” this little fairy was obviously excited of meeting her hero, but… this was too much, but… Adora likes it, so I won’t say a thing about it.

“Uh, Yeah, I mean… That was pretty cool, wasn’t it? hahaha” I hope all this attention doesn’t get to her hair puff, or it will be really troublesome.

“One day, I’m gonna leave Elberon and join the rebellion, fighting side by side with you” the little fairy was very enthusiastic I will have to admit it. I crossed my arms and looked back at the townspeople… I wanted to hear the music, I love music, it’s something I really enjoy, when I was in Mystacor learning from Castaspella I used to play the piano in my free time… That was until the accident with my eye… After that I went to Bright Moon, I have never once returned to Mystacor, Castaspella doesn’t allow it, she says it’s too dangerous for me. I remember everything… like it was yesterday.

_“Why can’t I train with the others?” I asked Castaspella with sadness, I wanted to make some friends, but she wouldn’t allow it, my eleventh birthday had passed and none of the others kid had told me anything, I was lonely…_

_“I’m so sorry Siri… but you are not on their level” she responded with sincerity, we were walking in one of the big halls in Mystacor, she was holding one of my hand softly._

_“But we are the same age! Why don’t you show me anything else?” anger was boiling inside of me, I wanted friends, I didn’t want to feel left alone, I didn’t want to be an outcast. I ripped my hand out of her grasp and looked straight at her with tears in my eyes._

_“Cause you’re not ready, darling” she explained softly without looking at me._

_“I can do it… I will show you!” I closed my eyes tightly, at that time the other apprentices where learning about manipulating objects and changing their forms._

_“Wait! Sirius, wait, it’s too dangerous!” I didn’t listen to anything she was saying, energy began dancing in my hands softly, I was making it, I was going to show her that I can do it like the others._

And then… a sharp pain in my right eye, I could hear screams from Castaspella, the magic had backfired at me… Taking away my sight in that eye, I was such a foolish kid back then… I was so deep in thought at the moment that I hadn’t notice how Adora had led us away from the little fairy girl.

“Hey? Sirius, you okay? You seem a little pale” I shook my head slightly and looked up to meet Adora's concerned gaze.

“Yeah I’m fine… “I said nervously, I looked around trying to find something with what I could distract their attention from me.

“So… I guess people loves us, this is an incredible party, I can’t believe they did all of this for us” I smiled doubtfully, I didn’t know if this comment was going to work and distract them so I wouldn´t have to explain what was wrong with me. I really didn´t want to ruin their mood, they seemed so happy with all the attention.

And surprisingly, it actually worked, “but, we told Glimmer we wouldn’t stay long” Adora sighed and so did I, obviously for different reasons, I was only glad they didn’t continue to interrogate me, that’s all, but Adora was obviously upset because the party seemed amazing, but Glimmer wasn’t here with us to enjoy it.

“I meeean, but we have to stay… i-it would be rude not to, right?” Bow answered and I looked at him in disbelieve, they obviously wanted to stay. I didn’t care, but… as I said before I’m not actually a party guy, I enjoy quiet places and reading books. The sound of music enveloped my ears, making me forget that awful memory I just revived seconds ago, I cursed slightly… I really enjoy good music too and the music here was really good… I want to stay.

“Yeah! It’ll be really rude if we leave right now” I supported him. This is the first party I don’t feel pressured at all, I want to stay, I didn’t though I would say something like that in my life. Well, there’s a first time for everything in life.

“Right! We’ll just stay for a minute and then… Me cake! There’s a me cake!” she yelled while pointing towards a cake that looked like She-ra. I was impressed… I have never seen something like that before.

“This is the best party ever! “screamed Bow while holding Adora’s face with both hands.

“Guess we’ll have to stay for the music, I mean the cake” I scratched the back of my neck nervously as they both looked at me with a smile.

I quickly left the others and went to the group of people who were dancing, I loved how they moved, they expressed happiness and freedom, it was very beautiful, they made me feel calm, a feeling that I have needed for a long time, but I have not managed to achieve completely. Boys and girls approached me with the intention of making me dance and when I saw myself completely surrounded I couldn’t help but be carried away by the group of children, together we began to dance and laugh until only I was left on the dance floor a little tired, but happy.

A pink hand took mine and I couldn't help but feel a soft electric shock run my hand, the instant it touched me, it was the fairy girl, I could see how for a minute she looked confused, but her expression quickly became happy and smiling again. She was much smaller than me, so I raised her in my arms and started dancing with her, the moment I took her in my arms she seemed surprised, but then I could see how her face was adorned with an embarrassed smile and tender blush, without knowing why, I felt my cheeks heat up as my smile became even more noticeable. At one point both Adora and Bow joined us and when the song ended, I lowered the little fairy. I was ready to go, but his delicate hand was still holding mine tightly.

In confusion I asked, “what´s wrong?” she blushed slightly and released my hand as she began laughing nervously, I didn’t bother to think much about it, she’s just a little girl.

“It’s just you seemed out of it before, so I suppose you didn’t hear me when I said my name, the name’s Flutterina” she said, and I smiled. Flutterina, it suited her, it was a cute name.

“Well, thanks for the dance, Flutterina” she laughed and went away, what a cute little girl, again Double Trouble’s face came to my mind and I blushed once again. It seems that they were no going to leave my head anytime soon, I wish I could see them again… But they live in the Crimson Waste, I don’t want to go back there, one part of my brain was telling me that maybe someday I will see them again, and my heart told me that it would be soon enough, I want to get to know them… Damn it, I shouldn’t be thinking about this sort of things, we are in a war! I can’t get distracted by some sexy stranger…

Then a scream reached my ears, “It’s the Horde!” I automatically ran toward She-Ra and Bow, who were over the confetti canyon.

“Our scouts have reported another bot, it’s bigger than anything we’ve seen, it’s on its way here” explained the mayor while I stepped beside her, listening careful to every word she said, “Oh, we need to evacuate the town, now!” she was frightened, it was understandable. If it was bigger than anything they have seen, maybe that was the right choice to do, they needed to evacuate before it gets too dangerous.

“Everyone stay calm, you’re under our protection, let She-Ra handle this” The townspeople began chanting her name, what did she said? I knew all this attention will get to her! I frowned and jumped over the canyon.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea…” I whispered in her ear, she laughed a little and I frowned. Why isn't she taking this seriously?

“Sirius, there’s nothing to worry about” I sighed and rolled my eyes, she was not going to listen to anything I say right now. Damn it. She jumped down the canyon and the woman who had alerted everyone about the presence of the Horde’s bot approached her, I guess she was the mayor of Elberon. They talked between each other and from the mayor’s face I could tell she was extremely nervous about She-Ra’s decision. I saw Bow and Adora walk towards the door and I just sighed; this is a bad idea. I ran after them. This is stupid, but they are still my friends…

“Swift Wind and I can deal with this, you heard the mayor, it’s one bot, how tough can it be for She-Ra? Just stay and have fun, we’ll be right back” and with those words they took off, while Swift Wind exclaimed: She-Ra and Swift Wind forever. I could feel my eye twitching…

“This is a bad idea, something feels off, why would there only be one bot? It doesn’t make sense” I said and crossed my arms. Bow looked at me with a worried expression, I shrugged and sighed once again. “We gotta stay alert…” I mumbled.

We went back to the party and I separated from Bow instantly, I did not feel comfortable right now, the words of these people went to Adora's head, I stood in a corner looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing of the world, but by my head ran a million scenarios about what could happen, and I was worried that some of them would come true. I sighed heavily and looked around, I had to remain alert in case something happened, at the other end of the room I could see Bow, he was also doing the same as me, He was alert in case something happened, I seriously hoped that nothing would go wrong and that it was just that insignificant bot.

But my petitions were not heard, more bots started entering the place, along with Horde soldiers. People started screaming and running everywhere. I groaned, I took out the little cylinder from my belt that soon transformed into my spear and ran over to Bow.

“We have to prevent the townspeople from getting hurt, you try to get them out of here, I’ll take care of the soldiers!” I ran towards some soldiers who were holding some of the townspeople and with an accurate blow from my spear I pushed the soldiers towards the other end of the room, the townspeople got up as fast as they could and ran off in another direction.

I was doing my best, fighting the soldiers, staying away from the bots, and trying to keep the townspeople as far away from the soldiers as I could, but we were outnumbered... I was already sweating, my body was aching everywhere, and the soldiers kept coming toward us, I couldn’t see Bow anywhere, but I was sure he was okay, o I hoped. Adora… where are you?

I gasped lightly as I knocked out two soldiers with some difficulty, I staggered back a little and frowned, we had to hold on until Adora returned, I squeezed the handle of my spear, ready to continue fighting until I heard a scream, I automatically turned around and saw how Flutterina was surrounded by several soldiers.

“Flutterina!” I screamed and ran to where she was, I got in the middle of her and the guards and we quickly started to fight, I was very tired and my blows were not strong enough, but I could stop them in the meantime.

“Run!” I screamed at her, she nodded and ran away, I groaned and looked back at the remaining soldier in front of me, from the corner of my eye I saw a bot coming toward us, and that’s when I knew I was fucked… The bot fired its laser at me, hitting me straight and throwing me against a wooden pillar. Everything went dark…

My head ached, my body ached, my whole being ached. I tried to move a little from where I was lying, it was a flat and somewhat rocky surface, where the hell am I? I could hear whispers and sobs, but nothing more... I opened my eyes slightly and had to close them again because of the light, I opened them once again a short time later and I sat down slowly while holding my head with one hand. Once I began to feel a little better, I looked around, the townspeople were here, but at least they were not all, I could see Bow in the distance still unconscious. I groaned, from the corner of my eye I saw a girl trying to approach me, but I looked at her and denied with a smile.

I got up from where I was and looked up, we were in a hole as it seems to be, a force field covered the exit, I placed a hand on my belt, just as I though, they had taken my spear. I frowned; we must find a way to get out of here. I sighed and clicked my tongue.

“Where are we?” I heard Bow’s voice, I turned around and saw him looking straight at the force field, then he began searching his arrow desperately, that where nowhere to be found.

“Where are my arrows?” he asked in confusion, I walked toward him and placed a hand over his shoulder. He looked at me and I smiled a little, I stared at him for a few seconds, making sure he was okay, and when I was completely sure, I took my hand off his shoulder.

“The soldiers took all of our weapons when they tossed us in here” we looked back at the mayor as she talked.

“It seems that we are trapped” I whispered.

“We are doomed! What good is a tech master without its tech? Bow without its bow? Guard without its weapon?” screamed the woman that had hugged me back at the party.

“I don't think this is the time to panic, we should stay calm” I said calmly, if everyone panicked then it would be much more problematic to devise a plan to get out of here.

But I was completely ignored… “We should have evacuated the town instead of listening to She-Ra” said the mayor, I frowned as I heard the townspeople began to whisper among themselves, even though I disagreed with Adora’s decision, she didn’t mean for this to happen, we didn’t know what was going to happen.

“Sirius is right, we should stay calm… She-Ra and Swift Wind won’t rest until they find us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work on getting out of here ourselves, I’m still Bow the tech master even without my arrows, Sirius is still the royal guard without his spear, we can get us out of this” Bow said with motivation; I smiled, his confidence was reaching every one of the townspeople, he was right, we can do this. Bow and I moved away a little to look from different angles the cell where we were imprisoned.

Bow sighed, “This isn’t my first time in a Horde cell”

“And it certainly won’t be the last time” I mocked. We approached the townspeople again and while Bow sat on the ground I stood behind him with some children.

“What do we do? They took all of our weapons” I crossed my arms over my chest looking down at him. He smiled at me and then turned to see one of the girls next to him.

“Luckily, they didn’t search well enough” Bow commented as he took out one of those devices he had created. I smiled; this is certainly what we needed to get out of here.

“Bow, you are freaking amazing” he blushed and began waving his hand. The children were looking at him in amazement. Well, it’s Bow we are talking about, he's absolutely amazing.

“Oh, it’s nothing…” I laughed at his respond. I sighed slightly and looked down at my feet… He sure was amazing…

I looked back at him after a few seconds and smiled again, “Can I borrow this?” he asked the little kid, who held in his arms a bow and an arrow. Bow got up from where he was and tied the device to the tip of the arrow, aimed at the force field and fired. Soon the force field was deactivated, and the townspeople celebrated. Now it was my turn to show what I’m capable of, with an accurate jump I managed to get out of the hole; I leaned into the hole to lend a hand to Bow and one by one we got out each person that was inside the hole. Once we were all out Bow and I looked around.

I frowned, where are the guards? “This doesn’t seem right…” I whispered.

“No guards? Weird” said Bow suspiciously, guess I’m not the only one who thinks this is weird… As Bow approached the others I stayed behind guarding, something didn’t seem quite right to me, I frowned and walked toward Bow.

“Now let’s get out of here!” he exclaimed, but before we could even take a step out of this damn place, Flutterina came running toward us.

“Bow! Sirius!” she screamed.

Bow asked in confusion, “Flutterina?” and groaned when Flutterina collided with him. “What are you doing here?” he pushed her slightly, and out of nowhere I could feel how she wrapped her arms around my waist instead. I was a little taken back, Flutterina was slightly trembling on my arms, she moved away from me without letting go, she had this worried expression on her face. How did she get here?

“It’s She-Ra, she’s in trouble and she needs our help” she replied quickly with high concern. I looked back at Bow, he had this determined expression on his face, he looked at me and I nodded.

Bow and I ran to where Adora was, following Fluterrina. Swift Wind and Adora were lying on the ground surrounded by a group of bots, while receiving electric shocks.

“Hey! Stay away from She-Ra!” Flutterina shouted as she threw a rock towards Catra, hitting the feline directly in the head, I looked around desperately trying to find a way so we could help Adora.

Bow and I yelled, “Adora!”

“What do we do?” I asked, we gotta end this quickly, I didn’t enjoy Catra’s presence at all. At Catra's command, the bots soon activated their lasers and were about to fire at Adora and Swift Wind.

“We have to do something!” I heard Bow say.

“And fast!” I looked around me again searching for something that could help us right now, if only I had my spear, I could help Adora, but I have nothing! I clenched my fists.

“Wait, look” I looked at Flutterina as she pointed at the confetti canyon. I saw how one of the kids walked toward us and touched Bow’s arm to call his attention, Bow looked at him, and the kid offered to him once again the bow and the arrow with a determined look.

Bow took the bow and arrow quickly and pointed the arrow at one of the bots, he fired the arrow and it bounced on the bot's head spinning around and falling right on the button to fire the cannon, the confetti began to fall everywhere, thanks to the confetti the bots’ sensors went crazy, this gave Adora a chance to touch Swift Wind and do their magical bonding stuff. We were momentarily blinded by a large light and then we could see Adora on Swift Wind, who stomped the ground and deactivated the bots with ease, then She-Ra brandished her sword and a great lightning flash cut off the platform where Catra was, seeing that she had no other option Catra made his withdrawal. The townspeople came over and we began cheering for She-Ra.

“Thank you, we couldn’t have gotten out of that without you guys” Adora thanked us, I only looked down at Flutterina beside us. It was all thanks to her…

“Thank Flutterina, it was her quick thinking that saved us” Bow say, I saw how the little fairy blushed at his words, I softly placed one of my hands on her shoulder.

“I know you think I’m just a kid, but I’m ready to join the rebellion, I wanna fight the Horde and keep my people save, just like She-Ra” Flutterina said with determination.

I looked at Adora, “The rebellion could use someone brave and clever like you, we’d be honored” Adora responded with a soft smile, I looked down at Flutterina, who was on the verge of tears. She ran to Adora and hugged her at the same time the townspeople started cheering.

“Thank you, thank you so much” I could hear Flutterina mumble against Adora.

“Well, we better get this people back home” I said. Adora and Bow looked at me and nodded.

Once we left the townspeople in Elberon, safe and sound, we started our way back to Bright Moon. I stayed behind the group as we walked, I didn’t feel well at all, today’s mission showed me a lot of things, first… that I was nothing without a weapon... Bow could have said that we could still do something, but I didn’t do anything, just stay there like an idiot…

My gaze was fixed on the ground as I walked, I could hear in front of me, Fluttering’s delicate voice and also Swift Wind's. She was so excited to be part of the Rebellion, guess, she was so full of energy… I could also hear Bow and Adora start talking, but I wasn’t in the right mind to join them. Suddenly they stopped walking, but I simply passed by without wanting to hear what they were saying.

We walked for a short time and in the course Adora and Bow tried to get closer to me, but the only thing I did was get further away from them, the thought of being useless was trapped in my head and I didn’t want to talk to them at this time, I felt bad enough thinking that I’m useless I didn’t need them to come and confirm that they think I'm useless.

“Welcome to Bright Moon” said Adora to Flutterina as soon as we arrived.


	3. Chapter 3Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you find something that can change your whole life

Hidden among the branches of a tree I observed the Horde tank passing under me, I looked at Bow who was on the other side looking at me, he nodded and jumped towards another branch and as he placed both hands on either side of his head, a sound that should have sounded like a bird came out of his mouth, I winced, it sounded like that bird was suffering... I'm going to be haunted for eternity by this horrifying sound.

I feel like we should have chosen another signal, I obviously refused to this one, but the others liked it, I was jumping from branch to branch until I saw Spinnerella emerging from among some bushes. Suddenly, a strong whirlwind created by Spinnerella began to lift the tank a few meters above the ground and then abruptly the whirlwind disappeared, dropping the tank to the ground over one of his sides. I sighed in relief; this is going particularly well.

Bow and I jumped to the ground at the same time and walked over to where the tank was. Suddenly the driver hurried out, ready to escape, but was quickly caught by one of Netossa's nets. I freaking love that nets, they always come pretty handy. I’m incredibly grateful that we have allies like Spinnerella and Netossa.

“Everyone be ready” Bow and I walked behind Adora, “Our scouts reported the Horde is transporting a new prototype weapon, and they wouldn’t brave the Whispering Woods unless it was something powerful” We stood in front of the tank, while Adora explained everything. I wonder what type of weapon it’s inside the tank….

“If I know Entrapta, this thing is gonna big, unpredictable and…” Adora opened the tank’s back door and I approached her, peeking out over her shoulder to see what resided inside, but strangely there was nothing inside, it was completely empty. I frowned; something seems off…

“Uh… Bow” I called him.

He approached us and looked inside, “invisible, Genius!” Bow was clearly surprised. Seriously…? There was a possibility that the weapon was invisible ...? Adora stepped inside and began swinging her sword in every possible angle trying to find the ‘invisible’ weapon. Once she realized there was nothing there, she turned to us and shrugged.

“oooor, it’s just empty” Bow spoke; I sighed, this doesn’t make sense…

Adora jumped out of the thank, “But our scouts said Catra would be moving the weapon today, it’s supposed to be here” she pointed towards the tank with one of her hands.

I crossed my arms over my chest and closed my eyes, thinking, “Well now that I think about it… If the weapon is so important, why did they send a single tank? Surely, they would have sent many more to make sure nothing went wrong, it doesn't make sense” I opened my eyes, and saw both of them looking at me thoughtfully.

Suddenly, metallic noises began to be heard around us, they were approaching us. I pulled out my spear quickly and placed myself in an attack pose as soon as I heard the Netossa's voice scream that it was an ambush. Just what I suspected; it had been exceedingly rare that they had sent a single tank... I frowned and saw how little by little we were completely surrounded by a group of bots. We are slightly outnumbered…

“We gotta get out of here!” I screamed, holding my spear tightly in my hands.

“The only way we can get out of here is fighting…” Adora responded. And so the fight began, I dodged the rays of a bot that was heading towards me and I quickly ran to another side without realizing how another bot was also approaching me from behind, I stuck my spear in the first bot, but suddenly I felt one of the rays hitting my back throwing me a few meters away. I groaned as I landed on the floor and held my spear tight. I got up as fast as I could and got ready to finish off the bot, this was not going to be an easy fight.

We spent several minutes fighting the bots, they had beaten us up, my face had a few cuts and I was sure my whole body was bruised, but luckily, we had managed to finish off all the bots. Injured and demoralized we all returned back to the camp we had set up for the Rebellion. Adora, Bow, Netossa, Spinnerella and I returned to the main tent where we will wait for Glimmer to come and check on us.

I groaned as I left my bruised body fall on the soft cushions inside the tent. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to relax, I thought that this time we had managed to intercept the Horde’s plan, but apparently, they were ready for everything. I just can’t believe it. I sighed and opened my eyes, I looked down at the little cylinder, that was my spear, in my hands. There was a crack in the middle, it was breaking… maybe I could ask Bow if he could help me repair my spear. I looked at Bow, who was beside me, he was next to Adora fixing his arrows while Adora helped him, but Adora looked like she didn’t know what she was doing at all; seconds later I could see how she breaks the tip of one of the arrows with a simple snap. I laughed slightly.

I looked towards the entrance when I saw Glimmer enter out of the corner of my eye, “Are you all okay?” asked Glimmer still standing at the entrance, I smiled and waved one of my hand dismissively.

“Well…” I began talking with a little doubt, but I suddenly got interrupted by Bow.

“Never been better” Bow responded. I looked at him, he was holding one of his recently fixed arrows in front of his face. Suddenly, it started to expand and I took one of the cushions beside me to cover myself, as soon as I did it the arrow exploded and a green snot fell everywhere, I looked at the cushion in disgust, that looked so gross… I threw the cushion away from me and returned my eyes to Glimmer.

“Okay, we’ve been slightly better” He admitted, seconds later I heard how he spitted something. I guess it was part of that green snot that had exploded in his face, thanks God I had that cushion covering me or else it will have been extremely disgusting.

“How do they keep doing this? No matter where I send you, the Horde always shows up to ruin the mission, and I’m just sitting here…” Glimmer started talking as she walked towards us and sat next to Adora, it was obvious that she was stressed, but well… I think we all are at this point; we are in disadvantage right now.

Adora interrupted her while placing one of her hands over Glimmer’s shoulder, comforting her, “It’s okay Glimmer, everyone knows you’re needed in Bright Moon” however, Glimmer still had a helpless expression engraved on her face.

“Glimmer it’s okay, we will do something about this situation, we can defeat the Horde, so let’s not give up just now” I said with determination, and even so... my words were not helpful at all, that look was still on Glimmer's face. I sighed and looked at her sadly, I really don’t enjoy when my friends are sad, Glimmer is having a hard time right know…

“So, what’s the plan now?” Bow asked with full determination.

“Did someone say: Swift Wind?” Swift Wind's head couldn't get past the curtain, he retreated and tried once again, but the same thing happened “Swift… Hang on” he stepped back again. I raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, Swift Wind's horn pierced the curtain and made a huge cut, from one side to another, “Did someone say…” he stepped in and began speaking.

Just to get interrupted this time by Glimmer, “No one said: Swift Wind” she replied irritated, I didn't blame her, I was also irritated...

“But you just did... Anyway, I backtracked down the path the transport was on, it came from the mountains, on the far side of Bright Moon” the magic horse explained enthusiastically, I settled on the cushions and stared at him thoughtfully…

I turned around to look at Bow, Adora and Glimmer “Guys this may be our chance” I commented calmly.

Bow said, “That could be where they’re keeping the weapon, we have to investigate” looking towards Glimmer.

“This is our best option right now” I spoke again, Bow looked at me and nodded, agreeing with what I said. If Swift Wind was right, we can’t miss this opportunity, we had to act as soon as possible. Maybe this time we can stop them for sure, that’s all that matters right now.

“A smaller team will avoid detection” I looked at my fellow royal guard, although I didn’t talk much with any of them, they were still my companions, people with whom I had trained when I arrived at Bright Moon when I was just a kid, “get in and out before the Horde even knows you’re there” that was a good plan… We will just see if the weapon is there, come back and prepare to make a real attack.

Glimmer sighed in defeat, “I hate sending you guys back out”

I looked at her, “But this is something we gotta do”

“Hey, whatever this thing is, we need to destroy it before it’s used on innocent people, right guys?” said Adora, I thought the same thing, we must destroy the weapon before it could harm innocent people...

“Count us in” responded Netossa with enthusiasm, I looked at her, she was always so determined.

“Darling, your arm” her wife tried to reason with her.

But Netossa didn’t listen, “mhm, nice try” Spinnerella sighed in defeat, Netossa was quite stubborn, I laughed slightly, “Spinnerella refuses to accept that I busted two more bots than she did, so I’m winning” I smiled.

“Lovers quarrel” I whispered while laughing slightly.

“There is nothing to win” Spinnerella said, I thought they were going to continue with their little argue, but it was interrupted by Adora clearing her throat.

“Soooo, uhhh, hey, how about we take this conversation to the war room, we got a mission to plan” said Adora, I looked back at the cylinder still in my hand and sighed, first I need to find a book about how to repair this… Bow already has too much in his hands with his own weapons, if I need his help I will ask him. I’m not that good in tech as him, but I can still try, with some research obviously. I wish I had a book about weapons in my room, but I only had sorcery books…

“Great, let’s go” said Swift Wind, I looked at him as he stepped out of the tent and sighed. Without saying anything else Glimmer got up and left the tent, I also got up from my soft cushions and looked at Adora.

“I’m going to find something; I will meet you all at the war room” I explained, she seemed to think about it for a second and then nodded.

“Fine, but don’t be late” she smiled at me.

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be fast” I answered quickly. I turned around and left the tent, my eyes quickly saw Flutterina walking away from the tent. I didn't know that she had been here, why didn't she come in? I shook my head and looked around for Glimmer, once I spotted her, I quickly walked towards her. She still looked down, I touched her shoulder and I could see how she smiled at me reluctantly. I sighed and smiled back at her in the same reluctant way.

“Are you okay?” I asked softly as we continued walking towards the castle.

“Yeah… I just feel useless, you’re out there fighting for everyone, but I’m here…” she sighed, you’re not the only one that feels useless Glimmer, I removed my hand from her shoulder and looked at the ground. That was something I would never say to any of them, I wanted to make them happy, I didn’t want them to worry about my affairs... I had to deal with them on my own. My friends don’t need anymore problems on their lives.

“Never mind… did you need something? I thought you were going to the war room” I looked back up as soon as she began talking again. Right, the book.

“Yeah, do you know if there is any book about weapons, specifically spears?” I asked, she looked at me in confusion and I just raised my hand, which was holding the small cylinder, showing her the crack it had, still small, but unpredictable. I didn't want to risk it, if it breaks at the worst time, I could end up getting myself killed… She placed one of her hands on her chin thinking for a moment and then looked at me with a slight smile.

“In the royal library there must be what you need, let me take you” without waiting for me to say anything about it, she held my arm and teleported us back to the palace. I staggered a bit and leaned against the wall; I was never going to get used to that horrible feeling every time we teleported. The place was spinning… Oh wait… it’s just me.

“Thanks Glimmer…” I groaned slightly.

“Don’t worry about it” she said dismissively as she waved one of her hand from side to side. Glimmer opened the library’s door and once I felt less dizzy, I followed her inside. The smell of old books reached my nose. I smiled unconsciously, it reminded me of my time in Mystacor. The smell of old books, the big shelves all full of different books. This was a paradise for me. I placed my hand on one of the books placed on the shelf and gently ran my hand over them, if this was a dream I never wanted to wake up, I had never entered here! I thought it was forbidden! I always looked for sorcery books in the towns, I didn't know that I had a paradise in my own home.

Unfortunately, my reverie was interrupted by Glimmer's voice at one end of the big room, “Sirius, I found something perfect for you” right Sirius don't get distracted, just look for the book and go to the war room. Remember Sirius, Don’t-get-distracted, the mission is more important right now.

Glimmer handed me a book and I gently ran my hand over it, ‘Royal Weapons’ What a strange title, I looked up to where Glimmer was supposed to be, but she was no longer there. I shrugged and started walking around the huge library, maybe Glimmer went to look for another book... I walked beside a large shelf that seemed to be full of files. I raised an eyebrow and left the book that Glimmer had given me a few seconds ago on a sofa that was near the shelf. I took out one of the files, it says ‘Elberon’. Curiously, I opened the file and began to review the pages that were inside, it was information about their culture, traditions, history, their mayors… This file had all the information about Elberon… I placed it back in its previous position. There could be 30 files at least on this shelf.

I scrutinized several of the files looking for something interesting, but there were only files of places and important people: kings, queens, princesses, and princes. Maybe if I take one on the top there might be something more interesting, I stood on my tiptoes to remove another files from its place almost at the very top of the shelf and just when I took it out, one of the other files fell to the floor next to me. I left the file that I had taken out of the shelf seconds before and left it over the book on the sofa. I bent down and took the file from the ground; such was my surprise to see that this file had my name ... I frowned slightly, why would they have a file with my name? the ones I had seen so far were from important places and important people, but ... I’m not important, I’m just a royal guard, right?

I opened the file and… it was full of letters... I was confused if these were the royal files, why is there information about me? ... I mean, my information must have been in the royal guard’s files, but I had my own file… why isn’t my information in the royal guards’ file? why do I have a separate file ...? Many questions were haunting my head uncontrollably, I didn’t understand anything, what are these letters?... I had some uncertainty to read them, but I had to, I have to know...

I took one of the letters in my hand and looked at it, it was from Castaspella, I sighed and gathered enough courage to read it.

_Dear Micah,_

_I found a baby in the vicinity of Diamond Cave, I think he is the only survivor of them, I brought him back to Mystacor, but the Head Sorceress doesn’t seem to want him here. They say he’s dangerous, in a few days they will tell me their final decision, I fear they might take the baby’s life..._

“Sirius! Come on you need to… what are you reading?” She quickly took the file from my hands and placed it somewhere else. I looked at her in confusion and she just smiled nervously. She took the book she had given me from the sofa and placed it on my hands quickly, “come on, you must go back to the camp, the others are waiting for you” she began dragging me outside the library. I looked back at the file that was lying on that sofa, calling me, telling me that I had to know. But it had to be later, the mission ... I must go to the mission with the others...

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why did Glimmer look so nervous when she saw what I was reading? ... Did she know something? Damn it… Did she know? What is she hiding from me? Does Bow know? Adora? Those were the thoughts that haunted my head as we left Bright Moon.

Bow, Adora and I rode on Swift Wind’s back, while Netossa and Spinnerella were carried by a whirlwind. Once we got to the mountain, we got off Swift Wind. I shook my head several times, I was still thinking about that file, maybe it was nothing ... but maybe it was something extremely important...

I could hear Adora say, “Stay low… and stay quiet” We started walking through the forest in silence. Come on Sirius ... you can't get distracted now, maybe that file didn't have anything important, but ... what did Castaspella mean with the last one of them? Who are them? The letter was talking about me, it was obvious, it was in my file after all. I knew I was an orphan, but Castaspella never wanted to tell me anything about my parents or where did I come from… So, I just stopped asking. After all, Glimmer, Bow and Castaspella were my family. I groaned in frustration, it doesn’t make sense, they wouldn’t lie to me… would they?

“Guys, did you hear something?” I instantly reacted to Bow's words and started looking around me, damn it… I had been so deep in my thoughts that I hadn't paid attention to what was around us. Everything was so quite… the forest is never this quiet, I took out the cylinder of my belt and it automatically changed into my spear.

Suddenly a laser beam shot out in our direction. Luckily it was stopped by Adora. Two bots started to come out from among the trees, I clenched my jaw and held my spear tight, another trap.... impossible.

“It’s an ambush, again!” exclaimed Spinnerella.

“This one is mine” declared Netossa and threw one of her nets at the bots, capturing them with ease.

As they both exploded Netossa yelled, “Ha! Two for one, still winning” she began laughing. I frowned. This can’t be it…

“I don’t think it’s time to celebrate just yet…” I whispered; my eyes still fixed on the forest around us. It was only two bots; I don’t think they will only send two bots if it were an ambush and just as I thought from among the trees a much bigger bot approached us with a drill on its bottom. I raised one of my eyebrows; this was new, I had never seen one like this before, I frowned. The drill dug into the ground and suddenly went still. None of us moved, expecting for it to do something.

“Is…? Is that the new weapon?” Adora asked with confusion, I frowned and walked until I was by her side, looking straight at the motionless bot a couple of feet away from us…

“It’s not very big… or movey” Swift Wind said cautiously behind us. We all relaxed, the thing didn’t seem to be doing anything at all, it was just there in front of us totally motionless...

“Soooo, is it going to do something or just…?” I placed one of my hands on my hip and looked at Adora, she looked back at me and shrugged. Bow started walking towards the bot and I followed him with my eyes.

“It could be a surveillance bot” Bow said, I narrowed my eyes and saw how a small red dot began to glow on the bot. Suddenly a green wave began to expand consuming Bow, I stared in horror at the scene.

“Bow!” I screamed, Netossa quickly created a protective net around us but it didn't last long, the net disappeared, and I uselessly tried to cover myself with my spear, but the energy wave was so strong I felt how my spear broke in half. My body was engulfed by tremendous pain and then nothing but darkness.

Once I was able to recover consciousness, I could feel how all my body ached, I couldn’t move and the only thing I could hear was my restless breathing and my heart pounding intensely on my chest. I moved my head to the side, and I could see Spinnerella next to Bow, who was still unconscious, I tried to move, but a piercing pain on one of my side stopped me. I groaned and looked helplessly at my friend.

“B-Bow…” My voice was scratchy, and the simple act of speaking made my side ache… I was in so much pain right now…My eyes began to close from exhaustion, I felt a hand touch my head so I moved my eyes to whoever was touching me, it was Netossa, she looked so worried ... is she worried about me?... the last thing I could hear before I became unconscious once again was Adora shouting Bow's name. A last image appeared in my mind before the darkness came back, Double Trouble’s smile...

For the second time I opened my eyes, this time I did not feel so bad, but it was fine… it could be worst. I sat gently on my bed and ran one of my hands through my hair, now I could say that we had been beaten. I looked at the small table that was beside my bed and sighed, my spear had broken. I opened my eyes wide open and stood up from my bed quickly. I groaned and held my side, I looked down, my chest was all bandaged. I guess one of my ribs is broken… that would certainly explain the pain I felt at the moment... But that doesn't matter right now. I got dressed as fast as I could and ran out of my room ignoring the increasing pain on my side with every step I took down the hall.

I ran to Bow's room and opened the door without thinking twice, Bow was sitting on his bed and Glimmer was next to him. I smiled relieved; my friend was fine...

“Sirius, you shouldn’t be out of bed, you’ve to broken ribs” Glimmer scolded me, my smile gradually faded when remembering the file as I heard her talk, I wish I had forgotten about it... Maybe everything would have been easier that way…

“I just wanted to see if Bow was okay, that’s all…” I whispered; Bow smiled like if nothing had happened.

“I’m okay, don’t worry about it, you should go back to bed and rest a little more, I really don’t know how you’re out of bed with two broken ribs, every time you surprise me even more” He laughed, I sighted and nodded. At a slow pace I left the room, closing behind me and started walking back to my room, but ... I couldn’t rest anymore, my spear was broken, I had to repair it ... and I had left the book about weapons in the war room back in the camp.

Rest could wait, at a slow pace I walked towards the exit of the castle, the huge corridors of Bright Moon were somewhat overwhelming for me, they reminded me of my lonely days in Mystacor… I’d had both good and bad experiences in that place. Although Bright Moon’s halls were full of good memories, from when I met Glimmer and Bow, but... now I don't know what to think. The file had taken possession of my thoughts again and it seems that it wasn’t going to leave so easily, I need to know, but how? Glimmer surely moved the file ... it was more than obvious that she didn't want me to read it.

Once I left the castle and arrived at the camp without interruption. I tried to sneak away where no one saw me, I didn’t want to be scolded for not resting, my injuries were not so serious... I groaned at the sudden pain stabbing my injured side, okay! yes, they were... but I could deal with it... Two broken ribs are nothing. I've had worse injuries in my youth, the scar across my eye was evidence of that…

Once I got to the war room, I took the book and left quickly without anyone seeing me. I sighed with relief and started my way back to the palace, but I was interrupted by Glimmer’s voice in one of the tent, I raised an eyebrow and approached to the tent ... this was Flutterina's tent if I remember correctly. Suddenly Bow's voice was heard and finally Adora's. I frowned, is the pain making me hear things? Okay, I really need to get some rest.

I shook my head several times and was ready to leave until suddenly I heard a voice I thought I would never hear again, Double Trouble, I swallowed hard and approached the tent, from a small gap between the curtains I saw them, sitting comfortably on the ground. They seemed to be talking with Catra over the pad. I clenched my teeth, Damn it, a shapeshifter… That would explain how I was hearing the voices of my friends seconds ago.

“Sadly, Bow is been heal by some glowy magic” Damn it, I could only hear Double Trouble’s voice, I could see Catra, but not hear her. “Very dramatic stuff” they sounded pleased.

“Oh, cheer up, I’m sending coordinates for She-Ra’s position, she’s going back out to destroy the bot that hurt her friends” obviously, that’s why the Horde knew where to find us, they were telling her everything about our mission. I narrowed my eyes, hearing mumbles coming from the pad. I must go find Adora and tell her the truth.

“I knew there was a reason I liked you, having fun yet?” Then Catra’s image disappeared from the pad. One part told me that I should run to where Adora was, the other part told me, they can help you... I bit my lip and took a decision… I’m so sorry, Adora. I walked into the tent and saw Double Trouble quickly change back to Flutterina, they looked at me with a fake smile for a few minutes and then frowned, before they gave me time to react they changed back into their reptilian being and pounced on me, leaving them sitting on my abdomen. I closed my eyes from the sudden pain of falling on the floor and having a new weight over my body.

“So, you blew my cover, I was careless... I would have to dispose of you” they said, sounding deep serious, I opened my eyes slightly and coughed.

“That won’t be needed” I said with difficulty, they weren’t heavy, it’s just the wound on my side that is practically killing me.

“And why is that?” they asked intrigued. I coughed again, slightly harder than the last time.

“Can you get off…? I can’t breathe… my side” I said, for a moment I thought that they were not going to move, but to my surprise they actually moved, and not only that, they also helped me sit down too.

“Guess the pulsebot got you pretty good too” they said mockingly, but the seriousness was back in a second, “now speak, why aren’t you going to tell your sparkly friends?”

“If you help me with something… I won’t tell my friends about you, but I won’t help you either” they looked confused and somewhat doubtful, after several seconds I heard them sigh.

“Then you would lie to your friends” they mockingly responded with that pointy smile showing.

“I guess… But then they won’t be the only ones lying about something to their friends” I whispered in defeat. I’m sorry guys, but I need to know, and I know that Glimmer would never let me get closer to that file again.

“Uhhh, friends keeping secrets from their own friends, that sounds interesting” their tail moved from side to side and I found myself captivated by it, it was really beautiful, everything about them was just beautiful.

“It’s a deal darling, what do you want me to do?” they smiled at me, I smiled back and sighed.

“Glimmer is hiding a file with my name… The last time I saw it, it was on the royal library, but I’m sure that she had taken it back to her room so I wouldn’t find it” They were extremely focused on what I was saying, their cheeky smile had disappeared and they were slightly frowning, “I can’t enter her room because I’m always busy with the missions, but you being Flutterina and transforming into everyone you want, I’m sure you can get in and out without getting noticed” I explained, they nodded.

“It’ll be really easy, don’t worry about it, darling” I groaned again and placed my hand over my aching side. “Maybe you should rest a little, that bot really make a mess out of you” they laughed. I looked at them slightly irritated and rolled my eyes, to which they laughed, they were making fun of my suffering, I can't believe it. I smiled slightly, I’m glad I got to see them again, but I couldn’t help, but feel a little bad about lying to my friends.

“Can I stay here? I-I really don’t think I can move an inch” They smiled and got up, I saw how they began to place several cushions on one side of the tent and how they placed both hands on their hips once they finished.

“feel lucky, I don't do this for anyone, my star” I blushed, did they just call me ‘my star’, I heard them laugh again and I blushed even more, they were making fun of me… I got up from where I was and walked to the cushions. I gently lay down on them and sighed with relief... What are you doing Sirius? They could kill you while you sleep or even now that you are so helpless. I closed my eyes little by little. I don't know why, but being with them didn't make me feel in danger, and if they had wanted to kill me, they would have done it already...

I swear that for a few minutes before I fell deeply asleep a delicate hand fell on my hair and started caressing it... I sighed grateful and then everything went dark again.

When I woke up Double Trouble was gone and my body felt much better, it was time to return to the palace. I got up from the cushions and took the book that had fallen to the ground at the time that Double Trouble had thrown themself on me. Maybe I will go check on the others… I sighed, I’m really doing this, lying to my friends… but they were doing it too… I just hope I’m wrong and all of this is a misunderstanding… 

I returned to Bright Moon in a short time and walked through the long corridors until I reached Bow's room. I entered and I could see how Glimmer, Bow and Adora turned to look at me, Glimmer looked extremely happy, but the other two not so much... Bad timing.

Glimmer suddenly appeared by my side and hugged me tightly, “Sirius! You’re okay!”

I groaned, “Glimmer… I’m still wounded…” I laughed nervously, she quickly released me and looked at me with a rueful smile.

“So… What’s wrong?” I looked back at the other two that where on the bed.

“Glimmer here used me as bait so she could go by herself to Catra’s hideout” responded Adora, I raised one of my eyebrows and looked back at Glimmer. Both of us walked towards the bed and I just sat down beside Adora as Glimmer stood in front of us.

“Ugh, come on, guys, can we just enjoy this victory?” pleaded Glimmer.

“This isn’t over, we still need to figure out how the Horde is tracking me” I tensed slightly, Adora's words had brought the guilt back to me. I looked down at the bed pretending to be tired. Sorry guys ... I'm really sorry, but this is the only way.

“But until we do, at least we can use it toward advantage” Glimmer was trying to reason with Adora, and it made perfect sense what she was saying, but one could just tell how irritated Adora was by the tone of her voice.

“By using me as a decoy?” I looked at Adora, her last words were full of resentment, she was frowning, with her arms crossed and looking straight at Glimmer.

“I-I know it was dangerous, but it was the only chance I had to take out the rest of the bots before Catra could unleash them… and it worked” Glimmer took Bow’s hand in hers, “I’m not gonna stay behind anymore, that’s not the kind of queen I’m” she looked back at Adora and I. I smiled softly, “I wanna be out there fighting to protect my kingdom, side by side, with my best friends” she released Bow’s hand and stepped back with her head up in pride.

“And now that Shadow Weaver is teaching me magic, I’ll be twice as effective” I instantly frowned and looked annoyed at Glimmer, Shadow Weaver? really? Of all the sorcerers on Etheria, did she have to choose that one, to teach her magic?! Why not her aunt?!

“What?!” Adora rose from the bed with open arms, completely outraged by Glimmer's words, “Shadow Weaver is teaching you?!”

Glimmer interrupted her with that cheerful smile on her face, “Guys, we won today and no one else got hurt, that’s what counts” I could feel my eye softly twitching.

“Glimmer, you know Shadow Weaver, you can’t trust her!” I tried to reason with her, she looked at me for a second and then looked in Bow’s direction.

“Glimmer I don’t know” Bow shook his head, but Glimmer didn’t seem to listen to any of us.

She turned around and placed her hands on her hips, “Now, I’m gonna go raid the kitchen in celebration”

“Glimmer!” me and Adora tried to stop her.

“I’ll bring back some cake” she said and then disappeared. I groaned and placed my hand on my face. Why doesn’t she ever listen?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!!!There will be a lot of feelings in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mysterious file

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so happy for the comments that you have left me so far, they make me feel motivated. Thanks for all the support, I hope you enjoy the chapter. ^^

This is definitely going to be a good day, I’m sure of it. This morning Glimmer barged into my room and told me that I could take a day off, so that my wound would heal. A day off was everything I needed, that way I could fix my spear before going on another mission. I came out of the bathroom with a towel tied around my waist and a smaller one over my head. I sighed in relief, a bath with hot water was what my aching muscles needed. I felt ten times better, my side didn´t hurt anymore, I just had a couple of bruises all over my body, but nothing too serious.

I walked to my closet at a slow pace while drying my hair with the small towel. Just as I was about to remove the towel from my waist, a small laugh caught my attention.

I turned around quickly, and looked at Double Trouble, who was sitting comfortably in my bed with one leg crossed over the other. “This is certainly a good sight” they had this cheeky smile on their face, I blushed instantly.

“Do you mind?” I asked with embarrassment.

“Not really, go on please, I’d love to see where this goes” they responded, I felt my left eye twitching and they just looked at me expectantly.

I sighed in defeat, “At least turn around…” They sighed and fell back onto my bed.

They took one of the pillows and covered their face. “You’re no fun at all, darling” came out of them, muffled by the pillow on their face. I rolled my eyes and dressed myself, looking over my shoulder to see if Double Trouble even dared to remove the pillow from their face, but they didn’t.

Once I finished dressing, I walked towards the bed and sat next to them. They removed the pillow from their face and sat down again.

I pinched the bridge of my nose; a light headache was beginning to form on my head. I sighed and looked at the reptilian being beside me, “How did you find my room? And why did you come?” I asked softly.

“I had a hunch” they smiled devilishly, I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. I’m not even going to ask… “And I’m here to give you this…” They waved the file in front of me, I took the file when they handed it to me. I looked at the file a little nervous and then returned my sight back to them. That had been extremely fast.

“H-How did you do it?” I asked uncertainly.

They grinned, “It was quite easy, that girl really needs better guards” I frowned, what does that even mean? “Oh, I didn’t mean you, darling… I meant… the others” they responded mockingly. I rolled my eyes; they did mean it. I waved my hand and urged them to continue. “It was true what you said, first I looked in the library and it wasn’t there, when I went to Sparkles' room it was a bit difficult to find the file, but nothing too difficult for me” they said arrogantly as they waved their hair with one of their hands. I smiled slightly.

“Well, I found the file hidden under the bed, Sparkles doesn't have creativity at all, that was a pretty predictable place” they finished narrating slightly annoyed with their eyes closed.

“You’re incredible…” I whispered softly; they opened their eyes and looked at me in slight surprise. I saw their cheeks turn slightly a shade greener and I blushed, did I just make them blush? Well, now that’s a sight I enjoy.

They cleared their throat and looked around the room, as if they were trying not to look at me directly, “Of course I am darling” I smiled at their usual sly and confident tone. “So, are you going to read that? I worked really hard to get it for you” I sighed and looked down at the file that resided untouched on my lap. I thought Double Trouble wouldn't find the file that fast ... or at least I longed for it, but ... knowledge was at my fingertips, I couldn’t let it go to waste. Why do I feel so insecure? Maybe this is nothing ... Maybe my friends never lied to me and this was just a normal file, but... the letters... That’s not normal.

I took a deep breath and opened the file… The same letter I had started reading the other day was in front. I took it in my hands and began reading it.

_Dear Micah,_

_I found a baby in the vicinity of Diamond Cave, I think he is the only survivor of them, I brought him back to Mystacor, but the Head Sorceress doesn’t seem to want him here. They say he’s dangerous, in a few days they will tell me their final decision, I fear they might take the baby’s life... Micah I don’t know what to do. He is just a child he doesn’t anything yet and to take a baby’s life just for the family he comes from... I’m going to try and convince them, so they’ll let me stay with him. I will inform you soon about the matter._

My hands where slightly shaking, the head sorceress had wanted to kill me because of my family? Why? I swallowed hard and took the next letter under Double Trouble’s gaze.

_Dear Micah,_

_I have great news! The head sorceress had let me stay with him, I’m naming him Sirius, he’s a really cute baby and he doesn’t even cry. Also, the head sorceress wants me to train him so that his powers don’t become uncontrollable. I hope it’s easy, he’s just a baby, he doesn’t know anything so I don’t think he would be like his parents or any of his relatives. Maybe it will be easy, but I think it's still not time to worry about it. Wish me luck, it’s hard raising a baby on your own, but I’m going to turn him into a fine young man. I’m sure of it._

Again, with my family… who are they? What are they? Why did Castaspella seemed so reluctant about my family? I took another letter

_Dear Micah,_

_I don’t know what’s happening with Sirius… I thought he might be a cheerful kid, but he’s just so… reluctant to approach other kids. I want Sirius to be a fully-fledged etherian, I know he can do it, but I have seen how he sees the other children when they play, but he has never approached them, and I do not know why…_

_This is getting harder and harder, I've noticed how every time we practice magic, his scleras turn black while his irises turn bright turquoise. I'm a little worried about that... he is showing signs, the same eyes and asocial behavior. I’m going to talk to him, tell him that it’s good to meet new kids, but if he continues to show signs of turning into one them… I will have to train him separately from the others… I really don’t want Sirius to be a lonely boy… I will maintain you informed._

Black scleras? Turning into one of them…? I don’t understand. I took another letter without wasting time.

_Dear Micah,_

_Something very bad happened, as I told you in my last letter I tried to make Sirius relate more to other children and it worked perfectly, Sirius began to socialize more with other children, but he seems unable to control his powers ..._

_I can't risk the other students that way, so I kept Sirius away from the others. He looked incredibly sad when I did and also annoyed. Two days ago, something very horrible happened, he asked me why he couldn't be with the others, and as an excuse I told him that it was because he wasn't on their level, when in reality his power are even stronger than theirs. He tried to prove to me that he was at their level by doing an enchantment, but apparently his power backfired and shot out in various directions ..._

_He destroyed a complete hall… and also seriously injured his right eye, I don’t think he’ll be able to see with that eye ever again… The head sorceress is mad, they want to get rid of him, and this time I don’t think I can’t do anything about this… I could try talking again with them, but what he did could have killed innocent people. I don’t know what to do Micah. I need your help, I know you’re busy with the Horde, but please… If anything happens, I will send you a letter as soon as possible…_

She lied about my powers…? Are my powers that strong…? I shook my head and sighed. I have to relax… I need to finish these letters…

_Dear Micah,_

_I know it's only been two days since my last letter, but I've already been informed of Sirius' verdict. They're going to seal his powers so he can't use magic ever again. I am afraid to admit it, but even as a child he is extremely dangerous for others ... His powers are not something that we can control, his power is too wild and erratic. I think the decision they made was the right one ... this way we won't risk the same thing happening in the hallway._

_I wish I could have avoided this, but there is nothing I can do..._

They sealed my powers? How?! All this time I had tried to make magic, thinking I’m useless because I couldn’t do anything, but it wasn’t because I couldn’t do it, it was because they sealed my powers! I squeezed the letter in my hands and dropped it with the others I have already read beside me on the bed.

_Dear Micah,_

_Sirius has not looked well at all since the seal was placed on him and the other students do not want to approach him at any time, ever since the head sorceress told everyone that he is a Nightcrawler, they flee every time they see him and speak ill of him behind his back..._

_This is not fair for Sirius, I don't think he can stay in Mystacor anymore with everyone treating him this way, I know you told me that in whatever I needed, you will help me... well this is a time where I need your help. Let me take Sirius to Bright Moon where he can have a fresh start. He could be a great royal guard and could also befriend little Glimmer._

_Micah, he needs a place where he won’t be seen as one of them, he doesn’t know anything about them, and I think it’s for the best if he never knows. It’s better if we keep him in the dark about this. Bright Moon is the best place for him to have a good life. I know Angella would refuse, but please talk some sense into her, Sirius needs a home… I will wait for your answer…_

I shuddered. “I’m a Nightcrawler….” I whispered… There were many more letters in the file, but my head could not bear more information, they had hidden everything from me for 20 years ... my powers, my family ... I don't know what to think about it, Castaspella lied to me ... She knew about my family and never told me anything about them, why? what did the Nightcrawlers do to make everyone despise me when the Head sorceress told them I was one of them...? Why did they seal my powers?!

I abruptly dropped the file aside and clenched my fists...

“A nightcrawler, but I heard they were extinct…” I heard a voice in front of me. I had totally forgotten that Double Trouble was still here… I sighed and looked up, relaxing a little, their voice had calmed me slightly and I wasn’t to question that, I didn’t have mind for that right now. All I could think about is how many lies I will find in the other letters…

I sighed, “I don’t know anything about them. Castaspella never told me anything about them or where did I come from, the only thing I know it’s from these letters… They seem to be afraid of the Nightcrawlers and I wish I could know why that is...” I softly replied.

“I haven’t heard much about them, just that they no longer exist… It’s just that people just don’t talk about them” They explained, I sighed and lay down on the bed completely.

I looked at the ceiling as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, “The only thing I know about them it’s that they are powerful, have black scleras and blue eyes” I felt the bed move next to me and I looked to my side seeing how Double Trouble had settled in the bed for them to be more comfortable while listening to me. They were looking at me with interest. “It also appears that they had sealed my powers… I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t know what’s real anymore… I feel betrayed” I sighed in disappointment.

“They sealed you?” They asked with intrigue.

I placed my hand over my blind eye, “When I was a kid… I had an accident, it seems that my power backfired and made a cut over my eye, leaving me blind from that eye. And not just that, I destroyed and entire hallway… That’s why they sealed my powers. They thought I was too dangerous, they also told everyone that I was a Nightcrawler. It made me incredibly sad not to know why my friends had suddenly began to avoid me and called me a monster behind my back... I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to leave my room and just looked at myself in the mirror of my room, seeing the bandage that was wrapped around my head thinking I was a monster…” I covered my eyes with my arm and closed them tightly. How many lies had Castaspella told me…?

Who am I really ...? Where do I come from ...? This feeling inside me I could not describe it, they felt like strong waves dragging me to the depth of an ocean. My head seemed like a storm, my whole life had been a lie, thinking that I was an Etherian when it wasn't true. Receiving affection ... when in truth they were only afraid of what I could become... They wanted to mold me so that I wouldn’t be like my family, but still. I had the right to know who my parents were and where do I come from! It's not fair that they hide that from me! Why did they wanted to get rid of me just because I was a Nightcrawler? What are the Nightcrawlers and why is everyone so scared of them.

I felt a hand settle on my head tentatively and gently began stroking my hair seconds later. I sighed gratefully, in all this chaos that was inside my head I needed someone to be there with me so that I would not sink further. We both spent a long time in silence, after a few hours they left without saying anything, I assumed that they had gone to carry out the mission for which they were in Bright Moon.

I do not know how long I spent lying on the bed after they left, the only thing I knew was that I was hungry, I hadn’t had breakfast and I assume it was time for lunch already. I should get up and go find something to eat in the kitchen, but I really don't want to meet the others ... I also didn't want to see Glimmer and Bow; they could be involved in the lie too. Although I wasn't sure about that, and I didn't feel prepared to continue reading the other letters that lay inside the damn file and find out the truth.

I would feel good at least if Adora was around, but she was training. I sighed, hearing the roar of my stomach demanding food. It seems that I am going to have to get out of bed before my stomach ends up consuming itself. I took a big breath of air and sat on the bed. I could stay here and starve ... My stomach rumbled again. I groaned in defeat, damn physiological needs. I got out of bed and shook my clothes lightly trying to remove the small wrinkles that had appeared on them from lying so long in bed. I ran my hand through my hair fixing it and walked to my bedroom door. Before leaving I took one last look at the file lying on my bed. I shook my head slightly and left my room.

My footsteps echoed through the empty hallways of the palace as I walked, and the words written on the letters echoed in my head. I needed something to distract me. I shook my head and looked down the hall where there were two guards holding their weapons in their hands. Right, my spear. I could go through the armory to find some parts and tools to repair my spear, but first… Food.

Upon entering the kitchen, I was greeted by greetings from the cooks, from the entire palace, this is my favorite place. One of the cooks approached me and asked if I were hungry, I nodded, and he told me that in a few minutes he would have something ready for me. While I was waiting, I started helping some of the cooks, it was the most I could do to thank them. When I was little, I spent a lot of time stealing cookies and they never got angry at me, I even think they left the cookies in the same place for me to take them.

After a while, the boy gave me a plate with food, and I thanked him. I said goodbye to the others and left the kitchen. My mood quickly fell again ... what if all these good times that happened in this castle were also a lie ... Did only Castaspella and King Micah know? Well Angella ... she didn't like me. Now that I know I'm a Nightcrawler that would explain why she didn't like it. Perhaps they’ll all come to hate me too if they came to know that I am a Nightcrawler... if they didn’t already secretly hate me...

I sighed heavily and walked to the armory with the plate in hand, I would look for the pieces and return to my room. I walked into the armory and walk among the soldiers who were inside looking for replacements for their weapons, I greeted them kindly and walked quickly towards the back of the room. I didn't want my food to get cold. I left the plate on a table and took a cloth bag that lying on the floor, I can carry the pieces here. I began to check the metal pieces little by little, looking for those that might be useful to my spear. I took several pieces of metal and put them in the bag with various tools. I hope this is enough to repair my spear.

“Hey, what’s with all those things?” I turned around and saw one of the guards behind me, looking curiously at the pieces that resided in the cloth bag. I held my plate with my other hand and turned fully to face the guard.

I laughed slightly, “My spear broke, I’m going to try and repair it” I explained. The guard smiled and nodded.

“Good luck with that, if you need something you can tell me” I smiled and nodded. I got out of the armory and walked back to my room, maybe repairing my spear would distract me from the file issue... at least for now, I feel that if I get to read more of what’s in that file I am not going to like at all.

Once I went back into my room, I breathed a sigh of relief, I hadn't found Glimmer or Bow anywhere. Maybe Glimmer was planning the next mission and Bow, I'm sure he was resting. I’m grateful that I didn’t had to see them... I walked over to my desk where the pieces of my spear were scattered. Okay, let's get to work. I placed the cloth bag aside and put my plate of food on the desk, I take the cutlery that was perfectly placed on the food, I don't know how the hell I didn't drop the cutlery. I started eating and closed my eyes with pleasure when I savored the delicious taste of the food. I needed this...

After finishing my lunch, I quickly started working, it couldn't be that difficult to repair the spear, I just had to adjust some parts and weld some others. Everything would be fine.

I spent hours and hours sitting in front of that desk, trying to repair the spear, but none of the pieces seemed to be correct. I groaned, I could not give up, I have to repair it I passed my forearm over my face, wiping the sweat and throwing another of the pieces that had not worked behind me. I took another piece and started adjusting it a bit, maybe this one would work ... After a while I finally finished repairing it and smiled. Well it was time to try it. I lifted the small cylinder in my hands and waited a few seconds. One side of the spear came out, but the other seemed to have been trapped and was unable to move. The little cylinder started to feel warm in my hand and I released it instantly. Smoke was starting to come out of the place where the other part of the spear was supposed to have come out. There was a short circuit and the cylinder retracted the only part of the spear that had come out. I sighed and left myself fall on the chair in defeat.

“What a mess…” I heard, I looked back and saw Double Trouble standing in front of all the pieces I had thrown on the floor. I sighed and grabbed the spear from the floor, it had turned cold. I heard some steps coming towards me, but I didn’t look back at them.

“Why are you trying to repair that spear? Why don’t you replace it?” They said, I tightened my grip on the spear and frowned.

“I can't replace it, it’s too important, it was gift from Castas…” I sighed in realization, the same person that had lied to me all these years was the one to give me this spear when I became a Royal Guard. “Maybe you’re right, I need a new one, I can’t repair this” I whispered.

“You can’t repair something that has been broken like that, it’s never going to be the same, the crack will still be there, and it might break again…” I looked back at them as they talked… Were they talking about the spear…?

I sighed, “You’re right…” I left the small cylinder in the desk.

“But, what do I do? I can’t use a sword… it’ll mess up with my balance, maybe I can find a spear at the armory, but it won’t be the same…” I scratched the back of my neck as I talked.

“Maybe you can make your own weapon, it’ll be better to have a weapon you made on your own” I saw them reach out towards the book about weapons that was over the desk. I looked at them curiously as they began flipping the pages until they stopped in one. “What about this?” They crouched down next to me and showed me the book. On the page I saw a weapon somewhat similar to the spear, I read the name of the weapon, 'scythe'.

“A scythe?” I leaned back against the back of the chair and closed my eyes. Maybe it would work, but to my knowledge here in Bright a weapon like that had never been seen. So, I very much doubt that they have suitable pieces for me to make it. It'll be no use asking that guard to help me... but maybe... I opened my eyes and looked at Double Trouble, who was flipping through the pages with a curious expression.

“Can you help me?” They automatically looked back at me. “Bright Moon doesn’t have weapons like that, and I need materials, resistant materials… Maybe you can find them for me?” I asked hopefully. They sat on the desk and crossed one leg over the other. “I normally will ask Bow, but…” I don’t know if he is lying to me also… I looked away with some sadness, then returned my gaze to the reptilian in front of me. “So… will you?” I asked again.

“I will help you… For a price” He said with a devilishly smile, showing their pointy teeth. I sighed. I should have guessed it.

I raised one of my eyebrows. “It thought my silence was enough payment” I said mockingly.

They smiled at me. “Another mission, another payment” I shook my head slightly.

I rolled my eyes playfully at them and crossed my arms in front of my chest, “Then? what is it that you want?”

They leaned forward and one of their hands held my cheek. I look at them in surprise. “Maybe… A kiss?” They whispered against my lips. I looked at their lips and then back at their eyes, my heart was beating fast in my chest, I felt like a prey right now, but ... I didn´t dislike this position we were in. If they leaned even just a little more, their lips would touch mine... How would it feel…?

I looked away completely embarrassed. “S-Stop joking around…” I stuttered; they are just playing with me… Come on Sirius, you know how they like to mess around.

They laughed and released my cheek, “Fine, I will tell you what I want later” they got off the desk and walked to my bed, leaning on it. I sighed and looked back at the cylinder in my desk. I looked at it with sadness… I still remember the day she gave me that spear…

_Glimmer, Bow, and I were in Glimmer's room celebrating that my Royal Guard training had finally ended._ _I had to fight one of the royal guards and defeat him to tell that I was worthy of being part of them. And I actually did it, I couldn’t believe I have done it. It was absolutely amazing!_

_“Yeah! Sirius, you were like… POW! POW! POW!” Glimmer threw punches into the air in excitement. I laughed._

_“Yeah, Sirius, the other royal guard didn’t stand a chance against you!” Bow threw a punch in the air beside Glimmer. They looked at each other and then they both jumped on me. We fell in the ground on laughter. I hugged them and they both hugged me back while laughing. Nothing could be better than this…_

_Soft knocks were heard at the door and the three of us turned our gaze to the door that was already opening. Castaspella head of poked out the door and my smile widened. The three of us got up from the floor and Glimmer ran to her and hugged her._

_Castaspella laughed, “Hello, Glimmer, can I borrow Sirius just for 5 minutes?” She asked, I walked over to them and Glimmer turned to see me with a smile as he released his aunt. We both left Glimmer's room and walked for a while until we reached the garden. She turned around to see me._

_“I’m so proud of you!” she hugged me. I hugged her back and laughed slightly. “I have something for you” She released me, and a guard approached us holding a beautiful silver colored spear with sky blue gems. I took it in amazement and looked at Castaspella still surprised. I couldn’t even speak…_

_I took a deep breath and smiled, “Thanks… I’ll take care of it, I promise you I’ll be the best royal guard, I ‘ll make you even prouder” I said with excitement. She softly smiled._

_She hugged me once again, “I know you will” she whispered against my head. “I’m so proud of you, Siri…”_

I frowned and took the cylinder in my hands again. I Took a deep breath and threw the cylinder in one of the desk drawers. I got up from my chair and started cleaning the metal scraps that were scattered around my room. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing that, Double Trouble had left after a while of being there, and I was alone again with my thoughts.

When the last rays of the sun disappeared on the horizon, I decided to take a bath to relax. Besides that, I felt a bit dirty after being sweating for so long while trying to repair the spear. I left the bathroom after taking a relaxing bath to clear my head, but not before verifying that no one was spying on me from my bed, once I was sure there was no one other than me in the room I got dressed and walked to bed where the blissful file was still, just as I had left it this morning. I sat on the bed and took the file in my hands. Maybe it’s time to end this… Maybe in the other letters it would tell me more about the Nightcrawlers or maybe why they hated them.

I opened the file and started looking at the other letters, this time they were addressed to Glimmer... They all asked how I was doing and how I was doing as a new royal guard. Everything was normal until I got to the last of all the cards.

_Dear Glimmer,_

_I_ _have tried contacting Angella, but she isn’t answering any of my letters. Glimmer, you, and Bow are keeping an eye on everything Sirius does, right? You must remember that he is dangerous, and you should not put too much trust in him, you don’t know if he could lose it and hurt you two. You just have to keep an eye on him. I don't want what happened in Mystacor to happen again, I don’t want neither of you getting hurt because of him. Although I trust the seal that was applied on him, but we do not know how strong his powers can be. He is unpredictable._

_Glimmer, Bow, please try to keep him 100 percent guarded as you promised that you would. Angella let the two of you approach him with the sole purpose of keeping him under surveillance because he is extremely dangerous, I hope you continue to do a good job. If something happens notify me immediately and I will tell the head sorceress that we need to reinforce the seal before anything happens…_

I closed my eyes and left the file on the bed… They knew everything… and they were also hiding it from me. I clenched my teeth in anger. What a good day…


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you have someone, who just by looking at them you feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's next chapter, I hope you enjoy!

I struck hard on the chest one of the soldiers with the handle of the new spear I was using in the meantime until Double Trouble got me the right materials to make my scythe. The soldier wobbled and fell off the cliff. I peeked over the cliff and shrugged, what a shame. I hope Glimmer catches him before he turns into a pancake. I scratched the back of my neck.

“Sirius! This is the tenth time you throw someone off the cliff! Be more careful!” Glimmer yelled at me as she disappeared and then reappeared once again letting the soldier fall in the ground. I sighed heavily.

“Yeah, yeah” I waved my hand dismissively and ran towards a group of soldiers. One way or another I had to get rid of the anger I felt inside. I couldn't believe that the only friends I had were just my friends to keep an eye on me, it’s just unbelievable. I knocked out one of the soldiers with a heavy blow to the head. I quickly finished the other soldiers around me and sighed heavily felling at least a little better for the meantime.

Even though these guys are nothing, but weaklings… I looked over to where the others were and sighed, I had to pretend like I hadn't discovered that my whole life had been a damn farce. So, I had to put a damn smile on my face, so they won’t suspect that something is wrong with me.

I walked towards them and saw one of the soldiers being tied up by Adora's rope and pulled back before he hurt Glimmer. “Hey!” screamed Glimmer in annoyance. “I had that one” she complained.

I raised an eyebrow, “It actually looked like he had you” she looked at me in annoyance. I shrugged…

Adora held the soldier by the collar of his uniform. “You are the queen I can’t let anything happen to you” she released the soldier as she talked.

“Besides whatever dark magic Shadow Weaver taught you, obviously isn’t seem to be doing the job” The soldier quickly tried to flee as Adora talked, but a net captured him, courtesy of Bow. It seems that Glimmer wanted to practice some magic tricks in the combat against the soldiers, but… she’s still the queen. We can’t let her get hurt. I saw the soldier next to us stir on the ground, somehow trying to remove the net. I looked at him irritably and pushed hard the handle of my spear against his abdomen.

“It’s not dark magic” replied Glimmer. She disappeared and reappeared next to us, with her arms crossed over her chest, looking to another side with her eyes closed. “And it would have been really cool if it had worked” she looked at us first in excitement and the in defeat as she finished talking.

Bow suddenly hugged us and I just took a step back, not wanting to be near them. Now that I think of it… I’m really bad at hiding my feelings, but they are also very oblivious “Aww, you guys, Look at us. The best friend squad back together again” he squeezed Glimmer and Adora, both of the girls looked quite uncomfortable at the moment. Bow looked at me as if requesting with his eyes that I join them, but luckily Flutterina jumped towards the group hug with their wings spread open and the group hug fell apart. Oh god… I can’t look at Flutterina the same way now. I know it’s Double Trouble.

“Take that Horde!” Flutterina screamed enthusiastically. I will have to admit it. They are really good in this. “Best rebellion mission ever! Thank you so much for letting me come!” Definitely one of the bests… I sighed and looked back at the soldiers. It was a little group. That´s not normal. Something is wrong.

“This can’t be all of them, where’s the rest?” Glimmer asked. “There aren’t even any bots”

“I didn’t see any others. They probably ran away scared” I looked back at Flutterina. Yeah… of course. I know they know something, but I’m not even going to ask. I have already too much on my own plate to be dealing with something like this and I also promised them that I wouldn’t get involved in anything they did for the Horde.

“Alright, we should head out” Adora said. “We still got another outpost to shut down before we can reopen supply lines to the kingdom of snows, Come on. Let’s move” she ordered and began walking.

“Finally…” I started walking. I seriously don't want to spend any more time with either of them, well maybe just Adora and Double Trouble, but…. Glimmer and Bow. That’s another story. Well if I have to go beat some soldiers I would go without hesitation. I needed to get this anger out of me. I saw Glimmer rush past me with an angry look and I turned to look at Double Trouble who had a satisfied smile on their face.

“Hey, Guys! Wait for me!” Flutterina yelled, I stopped walking and they ran to where I was.

“You look happy” I commented.

They laughed, “and you look mad, what happened, my star?”

I squeezed the handle of the spear, “I finished the file, I read everything in it. Guess what, everything was fine. They were just letters asking how I was doing, until I got to the last letter.” I groaned. “Hey Glimmer, you and Bow are watching Sirius well? with whom you became friends only to be able to watch him and nothing else, because if you trust him, he will kill you” I said completely annoyed as I imitated Castaspella's voice and waved my spear from side to side.

“That’s harsh, your friendship is as broken as your spear, my star” They mocked me. I rolled my I and looked at them as we walked.

“So, what are you planning?” I asked. I know I said I wasn’t going to ask, but I have a hunch of what they might be up to… They smiled at me devilishly.

“Oh, you’ll see soon, my star” They answered. I sighed. This isn’t going to end well at all, but I couldn’t care less anymore. We walked for a long time until we reached the outpost. The strange thing was that there were absolutely no bots in this place either. I frowned and looked out of the corner of my eye at Fluterrina who had sat innocently on one of the rocks behind us.

“I don’t see any defensive bots here either, honestly it doesn’t look like there is anyone on watch” Bow commented beside me.

“But we don’t know what they’ve got inside the outpost” I looked back at Adora who was in front with Glimmer hiding behind some purple crystals. “So, let’s go in nice and slow. Here’s what we are gonna do” just before she could even finish explaining the plan Glimmer disappeared. Surprised I looked at Bow at the same time that Adora shouted Glimmer’s name surprised by what had just happened. What the hell is she thinking. Does she want to get captured?

“We better do something before she gets hurt” I took out my spear and we all rushed towards the outpost. I can’t believe she just did that… Adora quickly jumped into action before any of the soldiers could harm Glimmer and I quickly jumped on one of the metal supports where there were several guards trying to shoot at Adora. I ran towards them and with a quick movement of my spear I disarmed them both and with the next blow I threw them both away. Piece of cake, just like the others…

Behind me I could hear Adora's reprimands towards Glimmer for having gone ahead like that without having heard the plan before. I looked at them sideways in confusion. In case they were going to start arguing at this time. I saw one of the soldiers fall beside me and I turned around in surprise, I had been distracted for an instant and that soldier almost managed to hit me. Beside me in the cliff we were just second ago was Flutterina with the same innocent smile as always holding a crystal in their hands. I nodded in appreciation as I continued to listen to the fight behind us.

I groaned in annoyance, “I guess this is what you planned…” they laughed in respond. I sighed. Two soldiers ran to where they were and I jumped over the cliff hitting one directly in the chest with the handle of my spear while Flutterina made a quick movement, spun around, and kicked the soldier directly in the back, knocking him to the ground.

“Double Trouble sometimes you’re too good” I heard them say. I laughed slightly. I couldn’t agree more. I looked back at Adora and Glimmer who were still arguing.

I jumped back onto the metal stand ready to continue fighting, but the argument between Adora and Glimmer was making my nerves twitch, I couldn't focus.

“Stop treating me like I’m weak and let me make my own decisions” said Glimmer.

“We are just looking out for you!” replied Adora.

“Hey, what’s going on with you two?” asked Bow in confusion.

“Nothing!” They both screamed at him. Fine that’s it, they need to stop this nonsense. I took a deep breath and looked down at them.

“Can you stop!? You two are being ridiculous!” I yelled. Both girls looked at me in surprise. I never screamed, I’m usually always calmed and relaxed, but they were just being to ridiculous and it’s making me crazy hearing them argue about something so stupid. Ugh, couldn’t Double Trouble choose another time to do this? Why now?!

“Okay, we are talking this out, it is not every day that Sirius screams at any of us and for that to happen he has to be very irritated” Bow commented with extreme seriousness. “Adora is there something you need to say to Glimmer?” Bow asked completely calm. I felt my eye slightly twitch. I saw from the corner of my eyes one soldier ran towards me and I just threw him away. I’m not in the mood for any of this.

“No, I don’t know, what? It´s fine” she answered while stopping the attack of one of the soldiers with her shield. This is going to be a loooong fight if this continues like this. I'd rather be sleeping instead of listening to them argue.

“Come on, you can do it. Communication is the key to a good friendship” Bow encouraged her. I scoffed. Yeah communication… like the one you and Glimmer had with me? What a bad joke. I can’t believe he actually said that. I would say something about this, but I must pretend that I don't know anything about it, at least until I get enough information to confront them and thus know the complete truth. But damn it, it seems that they are making fun of me. It’s not even funny.

“Yeaaaah, communication… just talk to each other like the really good friends you are” I said irritably, but they didn’t even notice, as they were more interested in their own problems. Come on Sirius don't let this bother you, you can put up with this.

“I don’t know why Glimmer is suddenly okay with trusting Shadow Weaver after everything she’s done to us, I’m just… I’m worried about her, it’s too dangerous” confessed Adora as she continued fighting against the soldiers. I don’t trust in Shadow Weaver either, she’s nuts. Maybe she’s still working for the Horde. Well, I’m no one to talk I know Double Trouble is the one telling our plans to Catra, but at least they had been trustful to me. I think so… I looked down at my feet a little insecure. Were they also lying to me…?

“You really think I’m naïve enough to trust her?” Glimmer asked in response. I sighed and jumped down to the ground beside Adora. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she smiled at me softly. I looked over to Bow, who was beside Glimmer placing one of her hands on her shoulder the same way I did with Adora.

“Glimmer, would you like to try and rephrase that a little more constructively?” Something I must admit is that Bow is incredible in this type of situation, he always helped us all to fix our problems, however difficult they were, he is always very understandable and calm. I, on the other hand, had my breaking point, although it doesn’t happen every time just when I get seriously upset it is exceedingly difficult to get me to calm down again.

“Come on guys, is better if…” I coughed to clear my throat; this is so difficult right now… I can’t talk to them the same way I did before… “we just need to get everything out of ourselves, say what we feel and make up…” I whispered. I’m trying my best…

Glimmer sighed, “Everything I’m doing is to protect people…” as she talked two soldiers came running toward Adora and me, I knocked one of them with ease while Adora held off the other soldier with her sword and then she threw the soldier the other way. “It’s to protect you. I’m not asking you to trust Shadow Weaver, but… can you at least trust me?” as she talked one of the soldiers ran to where she was. Glimmer dodged the soldier just by moving to the side and then with her hand she shot a pink ray that hit the soldier directly on his back.

I moved away from them a little to stop another of the soldiers who was coming towards us. If I wanted to have a moment of peace, I needed the two of them to talk. Even if all that communication talk had been more than a low blow to me. I still can't believe he said that, the hypocrisy. Considering what I read in that file. They lied to my face every day, all with the purpose of keeping an eye on me... I looked down at the soldier under my foot and took a big breath. I frowned and kicked him hard in the chest, leaving him completely breathless. That would keep him on the ground.

I turned around and I could see how the three now hugged each other affectionately. It felt like a bucket of cold water in the dead of winter, I’m not part of them and I never was... They were just afraid of me and they followed Castaspella’s orders. I heard how they called me, and I didn’t know what to do. I was totally static watching how the three of them smiled at me, urging me to join the group hug and I was tempted, but something inside me told me that it was just a sham.

Just when I was about to take a step toward them, a scream came to my ears. “Help! Help! She-Ra! Help!” I turned around and saw Flutterina being carried by one of the soldiers. Okay… what the hell is going on? Are they really on danger…? I don’t think so, they must know its Double Trouble.

Beside me Glimmer screamed with full concern, “Flutterina!”

Flutterina just continued screaming, “Help! Put me… down!” the soldier suddenly dropped Flutterina to the ground as soon as they asked for it. I tried to held down my laugh, it was obvious that these soldiers didn’t want to do anything with Flutterina. The soldiers were just trying to get away without getting hurt. They stood up and grabbed the soldier’s weapon. And then suddenly yelled again for help. I snorted. This can’t be real; I want to laugh really bad right now. All my bad mood was suddenly gone just from seeing this. The soldier quickly held Fluterrina and pointed his weapon at them. I frowned somewhat irritably as I saw where the soldier was holding them. I glared at him and aimed my spear at him. The soldier flinched and quickly removed his hand from Flutterina's waist and then took both of Flutterina’s hands and placed them behind their back.

Flutterina meanwhile kept screaming and struggling the soldier’s grasp. I didn't know why, but I feel a strange pressure on my chest... “Bow, can you take them out?” I heard Adora ask, beside me. I looked at her.

“Are you crazy? you are going to hurt her” I said.

“Sirius is right. I can’t risk hitting Flutterina” Bow agreed with me sounding a little unsure. I looked back at Flutterina. I was a little nervous. I shouldn’t be. They wouldn’t hurt them… but their continuous screaming was making me extremely nervous... What if they get hurt by accident? These soldiers are all idiots.

“Uhhhh, drop your weapons or the girl… gets it?” I frowned trying to hold back my laugh. I could clearly see on Flutterina's face how for a few seconds they looked totally irritated by the demand of the soldier that sounded more like a question. The nervousness left my body a little, but the uncertainty, that the soldiers would make a mistake and hurt Flutterina was still planted in my head.

“Let her go, now, or it´s not gonna be pretty” Glimmer took several steps forward with her fists up, surrounded by her pink magic. She looked extremely upset. If anyone could accidentally hurt Flutterina, it was her. If her powers accidentally hit them it wasn't going to be nice. I took a step closer to her, but it seemed that Adora had thought exactly the same as me and had held Glimmer's arm before she could do anything.

“Glimmer, no, they could hurt Flutterina” Adora said.

“Someone has to do something” I clenched my teeth as I heard her answer.

“And what if you hurt her by accident?” I asked annoyingly looking back at her.

“I’m not going to” she said dead serious. She quickly created a rune and pushed it toward the soldiers, a pink mass enveloped them and lifted the two soldiers into the air. The pink mass disappeared, dropping the two soldiers to the ground, and before we could do anything Glimmer disappeared and appeared on top of one of the soldiers. She held him and disappeared again, but I couldn't be less interested in where she had disappeared with the soldier.

I approached Flutterina and they held my arm, “You okay?” I whispered just for their ears.

They smiled slightly, “Of course I’m” I looked around trying to find Glimmer until I finally found her, she was threatening one of the soldiers, pointing a rune directly to his face. The soldier looked quite terrified as he tried to hide from her behind his arms. Glimmer disappeared and appeared beside Bow.

“Bow, put him back with the others and let´s go” she ordered while walking at a slow pace to where we were standing.

“Glimmer, what are you doing? You took things way too far” Adora asked in disbelief and annoyance. I took a step forward and I could feel Flutterina's grip on my arm disappear, letting me move closer to the two girls.

“Yeah, what was that? There are better ways to get information. You didn’t need to threaten him” I said seriously.

“I wasn’t going to actually hurt him; did you think I’ll really…” She responded with outrage at our accusations, but Bow didn’t let her finish.

“Maybe we should get some rest and talk about this when…” Bow tried to intervene before it got too bad, but it was already late for that.

Adora interrupted him, “The kingdom of Snow’s supply line is open, we are done here”

“Fine by me” Glimmer responded and then suddenly disappeared. Annoyed, Adora quickly walked away followed by an overly concerned Bow. I sighed and looked back at Flutterina, who was smiling devilishly. This was their plan. Trying to break their friendship… and I guess they had succeeded in it. I walked towards them and they looked back at me with an innocent smile.

“Well, even though I don’t enjoy this situation, I’ll have to admit it. You’re really talented” They laughed and hugged my arm, I smiled slightly and started walking in the direction where the others had gone. It was time to return to Bright Moon and as long as the two girls were upset with each other, it would be much better to stay on the sidelines.

Adora and Bow were walking in front of us, it seemed that Bow was trying to reason with Adora, but she looked extremely upset, and Glimmer, well ... she was surely back in Bright Moon by now. Well, it appears that Bow will have a lot of work on his hands trying to get the two to reconciliate They're both too stubborn, and if it hadn't been for Bow, neither of them would have said anything the first time. I just hope this doesn’t gets us all killed…

Flutterina began talking beside me, “So… I have a surprise for you, back in my tent” I looked down at them. What type of surprise are they talking about?

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

“Oh, you’ll have to wait. I’m sure it will cheer you up, my star” I blushed and quickly moved my head the other way before they could tell that I was embarrassed by their words, but it seems that they realized because second later I could hear their mocking laugh beside me.

As we walked back to Bright Moon, Flutterina never released my arm, and well... I wasn't going to complain. Although this was not their real form, it felt good, it made me feel warm. Hearing them hum was a little reassuring. I was no longer as upset as I was this morning. I think I just needed a little distraction and who better than them to distract me for a little while.

Once we got to the camp, Glimmer was nowhere to be seen, and as quickly as we got there Adora went straight to who knows where, still clearly annoyed, followed by a visibly worried Bow. Flutterina's hand moved slightly on my arm until they reached out to hold my hand. I looked at them in surprise and they just smiled at me and then started pulling me back to their tent. Once we were inside, they transformed back to their reptilian being. Double Trouble let go of my hand and walked to the teddy bear riot in the tent. I curiously approached them, and I could see how they took out a very large and heavy-looking bag.

They sighed once the bag was fully in sight in front of me, “This is yours, my star” they said. You don’t know how much I missed that voice. I bent down in front of the bag and opened it, inside was… well, it looked like First One's tech and there was also what appeared to be a large light blue crystal the length of my entire leg, it looked like a blade now that I think about it. That explained why the bag was heavy and quite large.

“How did you get this?” I asked while checking the different pieces that were inside the bag.

“I got them from kitten, she said she didn’t need this since it was quite damaged, but I thought it might help you, my star” They answered, I couldn’t believe this. They got all of this for me in such short amount of time.

“What about this… crystal?” I ran my hand over the crystal, there was no scratch on the surface, it’s a crystal that doesn’t have scratches or cracks on its surface?... that was impressive. I have never seen quite a thing like this.

I heard them laugh, “It’s not a simple crystal, it’s a Diamond, a blue diamond to be more specific, much more resistant than anything you can find, I asked the man I was dealing with to make the diamond look like a blade” I looked back at them in surprise. A diamond? How can they get a diamond in such a short time? “I made a few exchanges to get it, so I hope you give me something good” They smiled at me devilishly. I blushed; they had asked for a kiss. Did they really wanted that or… maybe they wanted gold or even jewels?

They laughed instantly, “Your face right now it´s just impressive, you can pay me with coins, but if you really want to… I can accept a kiss, darling” I stood up instantly feeling my cheeks burning from embarrassment as I heard them laugh. I cleared my throat and looked to another side.

“I’ll give you the coins once we get to my room. I’m going to call some guards to help me take this back to my room, you might want to transform back into Flutterina” I told them. I turned around to look at them and they looked at me with a cheeky smile. Seconds later they transformed back into Flutterina and I sighed with relief. I quickly got out of the tent and asked one of the closest soldiers on patrol for help.

Between the two of us we carried the bag carefully and walked back to the palace, followed by Flutterina, who still had that smile on their face. It really seemed like they enjoyed embarrassing me. Once we got to my room, after a long journey full of curious glances, I thanked the guard and he quickly left, leaving us alone again. Flutterina transformed again back into Double Trouble and they fell into my bed. I rolled my eyes slightly amused. I’m the one who should be doing that, they didn’t carry that heavy thing all the way here.

I turned around and walked to my closet, opened it, and reached into the bottom of the closet, pulling out a small bag. I opened the bag checking it, inside were gold coins. I think they were more than enough for Double Trouble. I closed the closet door and approached them. They reached out for it and I gently placed the bag on their hands. They sat on the bed and opened the bag. Apparently satisfied for the amount of coins in the bag, they closed it, and set it aside on the bed.

“It is a pleasure to do business with you, my star” They said after a while.

“Is it?” I asked mockingly.

They groaned, “Well, at least with you I don’t have to work with idiots that don’t know how to be convincing” I looked at them and suddenly remembered the soldier. I began laughing so hard my side began hurting slightly.

They sighed happily, “Now that’s a blessing… you look far more handsome when you smile, my star” They whispered. I looked at them in surprise. Noticing immediately how close we were to each other. I swallowed and looked into their eyes. My heart was beating fast inside my chest and I felt like I was out of breath. I couldn’t look away from their beautiful eyes. “I guess you own me another part of my payment…” they whispered against my lips. I felt their hands hold both of my cheeks, pulling me closer to them. I placed my hands on their small waist without looking away from their eyes. I could feel their soft breath against my lips, I looked down at their lips and then back at their eyes. I opened my mouth slightly and moved a little, feeling how our lips brushed slightly. Just one little movement… it’s all we needed, but before I could move at all, I heard someone knock loudly on the door causing both me and Double Trouble to jump away from each other. I groaned and licked my lips, still feeling the sensation of Double Trouble's lips ghosting over mine. I looked back at Double Trouble, but they were nowhere to be fine. Amazing… I walked toward the door and opened it.“Sirius this is getting out of my hands” Bow stepped inside my room without waiting for my permission. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed the door once again. Bow, right now I hate you so much. “Oh, did I interrupt something?”

I looked at him in annoyance. “No Bow… you didn’t…” I groaned.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mer-Mysteries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! Enjoy!!!^^^

I leaned back against the back of the chair where I was sitting sighing heavily. Glimmer had gathered us all in one of the palace rooms. I looked towards the window with boredom, the sky was dark, soon there would be a storm. I sighed once again. Although that's not what worries me, what worries me is the extremely heavy atmosphere in this room. What a pain… I would like to be in my room making my scythe, not sitting here, waiting to see what Glimmer had to tell us about what happened today.

“I called you all here to discuss what happened today” I directed my gaze to Glimmer who was in front of the fireplace with a look of total seriousness. I sighed… Well, I guess this is going to take long than I planned. “The mission to retake Dryl was a complete disaster. We barely made it out. I wanna know why?” she asked.

“The Horde knew we were coming. They were ready for us. How do the keep doing this? we thought they were tracking Adora, but she wasn’t even there today” I looked at Bow as he began talking. I took a small glance at Flutterina, who was beside me, sitting with a worried expression on their face. I would be fouled if I didn’t know Flutterina is Double Trouble. Flutterina looked back at me and suddenly the memories from last night came rushing back to me making me look away automatically slightly flushed.

“Isn´t it obvious?” Mermista slammed both of her hands in the table. I looked at her. “There’s a Horde spy somewhere in Bright Moon” the room was suddenly lit by lightning and the sound of thunder quickly was heard. That was a creepy coincidence… “and no one is going anywhere until we figure out who it is” she declared.

“Mermista, it´s very unlikely that there’s a spy…” Glimmer began talking, but she was completely ignored by Mermista, who started walking around the room holding her chin.

“We need to investigate, obviously I’ll be the lead detective since I’ve read every single MerMystery book” I raised one of my eyebrows somewhat confused, I had never heard of that book in all my life, and I spend most of my time in different libraries looking for new books… Well sorcery books. I guess that’s why I haven’t heard of them.

“Mer… What?” asked Adora. I sighed, ran one of my hands over the nape of my neck, a little irritated. Since we had returned from Dryl I had a strange feeling of heat radiating from the back of my neck, and I was already starting to get uncomfortable. I wish it would go away. Damn it.

“MerMystery, it´s only the best undersea mystery novel series ever, there´s like 18 of them, and taught me everything I need to know about solving mysteries” she explained. “Murder Mysteries!” she exclaimed. Scarring the hell out of Sea Hawk.

I looked at her, “What are you talking about?” I asked with annoyance. How the hell could she be talking about murder. There has been no murder!

“Ummmm, but no one is been murdered” Perfume said with confusion.

“Yet!” she exclaimed right in middle of Frosta and Perfuma. “First we need to question the suspects” I rolled my eyes at her

“Who are the suspects?” asked Frosta.

“Everyone is a suspect” Mermista said, as she leaned dramatically against one of the windows of the room at the same time a thunder fell. I groaned.

“Really? This is not some novel, Mermista” I said. But it seems that everyone was already somewhat convinced by Mermista’s words, that they didn't even pay any attention to me. I sighed in defeat and shook my head slightly. Why do I even bother myself?

“Everyone? Is anyone else sweating? I’m sweating” Bow began waving his hand in the air trying to refresh himself. Why the hell is he nervous about this? It’s not like he is the spy, but… I’m the only one who knows who’s the spy and I don’t plan to tell them who it is. A deal it’s a deal and I’m not going to break it.

“This is a waste of time. We know that the Horde is pulling their troops back, to prepare something big. That´s what we should be investigating” Glimmer said seriously. Well she was right about something, the Horde was preparing something very big, but there was also a spy in Bright Moon. And even if she manages to figure out what the Horde is planning, we are going to be stopped before we can do anything since Double Trouble was working for them, and they are sitting right beside me listening to everything they’re talking about.

“No, Mermista is right and we know it can’t be me the Horde is tracking, since once again you used me as a distraction today. A spy is really the only thing that makes sense” Adora said mockingly. Since the fight they had the last time. Things between the two of them have gone from bad to worse.

“Maybe, they didn’t fall for the distraction because you’re a bad actress, and who would the spy even be anyway?” Glimmer responded almost instantly looking clearly annoyed by Adora’s recent comment.

“How about the Horde officer, who´s living at… I’m sorry, being held prisoner at Bright Moon?” Damn it. If they are going to fight again. I might as well stop it before they begin screaming at each other. “Shadow Weaver has actual shadow spies. We met them” Adora explained.

“Guys, can we take this easy? Let’s just focus on one thing at the time, and by thing I mean important things, not personal affairs that you can solve on your own if you would even talk to each other” Glimmer and Adora looked at me as I talked, with my arms crossed over my chest.

“Shadow Weaver does seem like the obvious suspect, which means it definitely isn’t her” I looked at Mermista who had started to speak. She had turned around to see us and had placed both hands on her hip at the same time that another thunder echoed across the room and the room was illuminated by lightning. “It´s never the obvious one” she smiled and began walking once again. She stooped right in between Perfuma and Frosta. “Like in MerMystery: The pearl who knew too much. You think it´s the pearl, but it’s not” another thunder echoed across the room.

I frowned, “I’m sorry, but what’s with the thunders?” I whispered.

“Spoilers!” screamed Perfuma.

Mermista raised one of her feet to the coffee table and raised one of her hands pointing at the sky. I suppose she is adding drama to the situation we were in, as if it weren’t enough with Glimmer and Adora at each other's throat with whatever chance they had. “It’s time to interrogate the castle!” she exclaimed. Another thunder.

“How are you doing that?” asked Frosta.

“I practice at home!” exclaimed Mermista accompanied seconds later by a thunder. “So, this is what we are going to do, we will be calling each of the people in Bright Moon one by one until we find the murderer” she explained the plan. I groaned.

“For the last time, there hasn’t been a murder!” I yelled. “Okay, I’m done. I’m going back to my room, when you want to interrogate me, just call me… or whatever. I can’t deal with you right now” As quickly as I said it, I quickly left the room. One more second there and my head would have exploded. Once I got to my room, I got inside closing the door behind me, and walked directly to my desk, where was the handle of my new weapon, already fully armed. The only thing left was to place the blade, that was going to be a little more difficult considering that this part is a diamond.

I closed my eyes slightly as I felt the heat on my neck. I placed the handle of my new weapon back on the desk and quickly removed my shirt. Maybe something was on my back, a scratch? I went to one of the mirrors, but before I could check it the door opened, allowing Flutterina to enter my room as if nothing had happened with a smile on their face. I smiled playfully.

“Is this going to become something regular?” I asked mockingly. They transformed back into Double Trouble and laughed.

“Maybe it will, my star, how are you doing? That thing you did back at Dryl impressed me. I thought you said your magic was sealed” I sighed as they walked towards me. I shook my head slightly.

“I mean they did, but I don’t know what happened… And for some damn reason my neck is freaking hot” I groaned in annoyance. They got behind me and started stroking my back gently with their sharp nails. I felt a chill go down my back and I looked at them out of the corner of my eye. “Do you see anything…?” I whispered.

“There´s a symbol on the nape of your neck. I didn’t see this last time when you came out of the bathroom” they answered. I frowned. A symbol?

“What type of symbol?” I quickly asked.

“Um… I don’t know how to describe it, my star” I quickly walked away from them and took one of the sorcery books that I had brought from Mystacor the last time I had visited Castaspella a few years ago. I quickly flipped through the pages until I reached the seal section. I started flipping the pages one by one looking at Double Trouble, who only denied each time I flipped the pages.

I sighed in defeat as I reached one of the last pages of the book that looked somewhat worn and torn in places “Well… this is one of the last pages. Does it look like this?” I asked. They placed their hand on my shoulder and nodded. “It’s a rune that prevents all use of magic. The rune consumes the magic that you produce in your body, preventing you from using it. I think that when we were in Dryl I felt so pressured that for a second magic shot out of my body and weakened the seal. So now it is visible on my skin. I don’t know much about this seal... I have never been interested in this part of the book because it’s practically unreadable” I explained. I took my shirt and put it on under Double Trouble’s gaze. “I guess I will have to work hard to read what it says here” I laughed slightly.

“You might be able to break the seal if you release enough magic” They said. I nodded. It was a possibility.

“Maybe, but the only problem is Castaspella…” I whispered. A sudden throbbing pain shot through the nape of my neck and I closed my eyes tight. I felt Double Trouble's hands hold my shoulders and gently guide me towards my bed, I suppose. They left me on the bed and sat next to me with their hands softly caressing my head.

“So, what are you going to do, my star?” They asked.

I sighed, “I don’t know, maybe there’s something about how to break this stupid seal in the book…I wish the book was in better condition” I commented. They hummed at my answer and I continue stroking my hair gently. I wanted to ask them what they were planning, but I feel like it's better if I don't know anything. At least now that everyone is suspecting that there is a spy. I don't want any information to come out and end up causing Double Trouble to be discovered. After a while, their hand stopped, and I felt the movement of the bed.

They sighed, “As much as I would like to stay here with you, I need to get out before they notice Flutterina is gone” They stood up and I just nodded in response. I couldn’t even talk. The pain was too much I couldn’t even concentrate correctly. I heard them laugh for a moment and then their steps drifting away from the bed and out of the bedroom.

I closed my eyes as I felt the throbbing pain on the back of my neck. I couldn't stand it anymore... Maybe if I sleep for a while the pain might go away or I least I hoped so…

I don't know how long I have been asleep, but I think they were the best moments of my life until they knocked on the door. I opened my eyes slightly and blinked several times trying to adjust my eyes to the light in my room. I heard them knock again, and I got out of bed calmly. I opened the door and in front of me were Adora and Glimmer.

“You came to interrogate me?” I asked. They both nodded. And I just let them in. The three of us sat on the bed. I don't know how the two of them had ended up teaming up to carry out the interrogations, but better not ask.

“Okay, Sirius, can you tell us exactly what happened at Dryl?” Glimmer asked. I sighed and began remembering what had happened.

I took a deep breath, “Everything was fine, everyone was in position. I was over one of those strange metal boxes as a lookout for any traps or bots. I was waiting for Bow to give the signal so we could proceed, but I don't know what happened, Bow signaled, and you guys suddenly appeared, but Frosta still hadn't finished checking the place. I just jumped down and you know I asked you guys what was going on. And that's when we found ourselves surrounded by countless soldiers. Sea Hawk running toward us carrying Mermista.” I sighed slightly as I finished explaining.

“Sirius… When we found ourselves surrounded by the soldiers a sudden wave of magic came out of you… How is that even possible?” she asked. Adora looked at her in confusion.

“Wait, Sirius. You did magic? I have never seen you make magic before, it’s awesome” Adora said cheerfully.

“It’s not!” Glimmer screamed at her. I frowned.

“Glimmer, what’s the problem with me making magic? I used to train on Mystacor as you might know…” I responded. She looked at me slightly scared. “I don’t know okay. I just… We were in danger, if I haven’t done anything, we might have been dead right now” I whispered. She looked visibly worried about my sudden ability to make magic. I can’t do anything about it. The seal has been weakened by my sudden outburst of magic and now I might be able to make magic whenever I want.

“Well… It’s obviously not Sirius, so we better get to our real spy right now. Rest well, Sirius” Adora stood up and began walking towards the door. Glimmer seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, but then she got up and followed Adora out of my room. I sighed, hopefully she wouldn't say anything to Castaspella about what happened, but Bow had seen it too... so Castaspella will likely come back for me soon. I might as well enjoy being here till she comes for me.

I shook my head slightly, trying to get rid of those thoughts. I better go see the others. I want to see if they can discover who the spy is. I left my room and, on the way. I met the others, who quickly pulled me with them to who knows where. As soon as we reached one of the palace rooms, Perfuma opened the door wide. Letting us see Adora, Glimmer and Flutterina. It appears that they were being interrogated.

“There you are” exclaimed Mermista. “Why are you just standing around, this isn’t MerMystery: The case of people who just stood around” I saw Glimmer place one of her hands on her face clearly annoyed. “The sequel I wrote right now about all of you”

I rolled my eyes, “really Mermista?”

“Who is even left to question?” Glimmer asked with annoyance. We all returned to a room where the interrogations were taking place and I just sat on one of the sofas listening to each of the interrogations. This was getting absurd, but I still have to pretend I don't know anything about it when it was clearly Double Trouble who completely thwarted the mission.

The interrogations continued uselessly. What a waste of time. Each of the interrogations became increasingly ridiculous, almost every people they were interrogating hadn’t even been to Dryl.

I looked up at the others when I heard Bow scream, “You have to arrest me for everyone’s safety! Otherwise my evil alter ego might do it again” he said through tears. I groaned.

“It’s not you, Bow! For the love of…” I screamed from my comfortable sofa. I covered my face with my hands in defeat. I can't believe this is happening. I closed my eyes irritably and continued to listen as person after person entered the interrogation room only to be automatically dismissed.

“You okay, Sirius?” I opened my eyes and looked back at Flutterina. I smiled lightly.

“Yeah, just a light headache. This is a complete mess…” I whispered.

“And it's about to become worst, my star” They winked at me and quickly walked away from me. I suppose they will continue with their plan so that this day becomes a worse disaster than it already is. I laughed slightly; they seem to really enjoy chaos. I looked around the room, Bow, Frosta, Mermista, Perfume, Adora and Glimmer had completely disappeared. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Where would they have gone? I stood up from the sofa and left the room. As I walked down the hall, I could see at the distance how the aforementioned were walking quickly towards me, except for Adora and Glimmer.

“What’s going on?” I asked once I had them in front of me.

Bow looked at me, “something really bad happened, we must find Adora and Glimmer” I nodded. We all quickly made our way to Glimmer's room.

“Adora! Glimmer!” screamed Bow as soon as we arrived. Bow and Perfuma opened the doors, and inside we could clearly see Adora and Glimmer.

“Where have you guys been?” asked Frosta.

“The communication’s panel on the war room has been severed” explained Perfuma. Oh, so that’s what happened. Quickly we all ran to the war room where the destroyed panel was clearly seen and not only that, Bow's pad was on the ground split in half in a puddle of water.

“When did this happened?” Adora asked, Really? Is that even a serious question? I’ll laugh, but that’s not a particularly good idea.

“I don’t know. We were passing by the room when we saw it” Mermista responded.

“Wait, we saw you ran out of here two minutes ago” Frosta quickly accused Mermista.

“Uh, what are you talking about? I was with Perfuma” Mermista tried to defend herself against the accusations of the smallest of the group.

“Could the storm have done something to cause this?” Perfuma, always so optimistic, I’ll give her that. She’s a cinnamon roll.

“Uhhh, I don’t think that’s even possible, Perfuma” I commented.

“This wasn’t an accident” declared Glimmer. I looked at her. She seemed to be looking at Bow’s pad in the ground. “This was sabotage”

Once again, we all returned back to the same room where we had been after the mission in Dryl. For some reason I have a bad feeling about what could happen. Adora and Glimmer seemed to have already reconciled because of how we had found them in the room, I guess? Silence reigned between us, the only thing that could be heard was the rain hitting the windows and the atmosphere was somewhat tense. I sighed heavily as I looked at the others in the room.

“The general is working on restoring communications, in the meantime there’s a backup device in the dining room, should we need it?” I looked at Glimmer as she talked. I didn’t know there was a backup device… I frowned. Wait a minute… I guess I know what’s going on… The doors closed tightly behind us and I turned my head towards the door, seeing Mermista standing in front of it.

“All of us here knew we were trying to unmask the spy and we were the ones who made the plan to take back Dryl, we’ve ruled out all other suspects, which means the only person the spy could be… is one of us” She said seriously. I heard Perfuma gasp in surprise… How can she be surprised I mean it’s obvious that it´s one of us. There were too many coincidences.

A thunder was heard and Frosta stood over her chair pointing towards Perfuma, “Perfuma was the one who let the Horde take the doors”

Perfuma stood up, “I wasn’t there” she gasped. “Wait, your team was the one who told us to come in and you lead Mermista away”

“I did not” Frosta tried to defend herself.

Mermista quickly approached them with her arms crossed. “Trying to throw the blame on someone else, huh, Frosta?”

This time Frosta pointed at Mermista, “If Mermista knows so much about mysteries, she probably knows how to plan the perfect crime” she crossed her arms over her chest as she finished talking.

Perfuma gasped and placed herself beside Frosta, “and there was water by the tracker pad”

Mermista pointed at Frosta, “Water that could have been melted ice” accused Mermista. This is becoming more and more interesting. I can wait to see how this turns out.

“It’s probably me” I looked at Bow and groaned

“Bow!” I yelled at him.

“It´s not you Bow” Frosta said noticeably irritated. And how not to be? Bow had spent all day saying he was the culprit!

Mermista gasped, “or maybe it is, like in MerMystery: Salter Ego” I groaned one again.

“This is not a book!” I yelled at her. Come on this is not some fairytale. This is real life. Can’t she take this seriously.

“It couldn’t be me; I was busy fighting at least 200 soldiers” Sea Hawk stated as he got up and placed one of his feet over the coffee table with his fist raised to the sky. I felt my eye twitching.

“Really? I blew half of the soldiers with just one wave of my hand. I’m sorry mate, but in what moment did you defeat 200 soldiers. I didn’t get to see that” I said annoyingly.

I heard Mermista gasp again and I looked at her with a frown, “and how did you manage to do such thing. You never had that amount of power, is the Horde giving you something that makes you more powerful?! You are the spy!!” I frowned even more and stood up from my chair.

“That doesn’t even make sense! I used to study in Mystacor, maybe that’s why I was capable!” I responded. I know that it´s a lie. Since they had sealed my powers back in Mystacor, but I need to get her off my back.

“This is a waste of time, Glimmer. Shouldn’t we be…” Adora started talking.

“Stop!” Glimmer abruptly interrupted her. I looked back at them. Glimmer looked incredibly mad… I thought they had fixed everything between them. I guess I was wrong… “Stop questioning my choices, stop whining about being a decoy, just stop! okay?”

Adora stood up and looked straight at Glimmer, “I´m not whining!”

“All you do is question me, question my authority. It´s exhausting!” Glimmer said. Beside me Sea Hawk suddenly screamed, and I just looked at him completely confused as he covered his face while sobbing. What the hell had gotten into him?

“Okay, I lied. I didn’t fight 300 soldiers. Mermista, will you ever forgive me?” he crawled towards Mermista. I rolled my eyes. This is getting more and more ridiculous.

“Sea Hawk, we all knew that” she responded absolutely annoyed by the situation. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I’m going to have one hell of a headache when all of this is over…

“I don’t know who to believe anymore. I can´t trust my own eyes!! Who am I?” I looked at Bow who was near the door. When did he get there?

I sighed, “Bow! Relax, okay?!” I screamed at him.

“Look at what she’s doing to you” I turned around and looked at Adora and Glimmer, who continued arguing. “Shadow Weaver just wants power and you are listening to her”

“Oh, what? Are you jealous because your aren´t Shadow Weaver’s favorite anymore? Or are you just mad that I’m queen and in charge, and you are not?” I looked at Glimmer in surprise as she talked back to Adora.

“That’s ridiculous!” Adora responded.

“You just run around playing the perfect hero. You have no idea how hard it’s been for me” Glimmer spoke.

“Because you stopped including me in your decisions. We used to be a team, and now? I don’t know what we are” Adora answered. I saw how they both looked in our direction, but something was wrong. All the anger that seemed to have been on their faces a few seconds ago disappeared... wait? It was a distraction. I took a glance at my side. Flutterina was not in their place... They had fallen directly into the trap.

“Come on everyone… We gotta catch the rat” said Glimmer. We all head quickly to the dining room and sneak in. Adora, Glimmer, and I stood close to one of the doors from the dining room to prevent Flutterina from trying to get out of here. There was a faint shadow on the floor looking for something. It was obviously Flutterina looking for the inexistent backup device. The lights came on and Flutterina turned to look at us in surprise.

“Hey, Flutterina, looking for something?” Glimmer said mockingly.

“Glimmer? Adora… Sirius. Hi, uh… just looking for the bathroom” they laughed nervously and began walking backwards without seeing the others behind them until they collided with Bow, making them fall into the floor. Perfuma waver her hand at Flutterina with a smile on her face.

“Okay. This looks bad, but I assure you it isn’t what it looks like” they stood up from the ground as we all started surrounding them. I had to help them… I shifted a little covertly giving them enough room so they could sneak away easily. “So, let’s all just…” They quickly turned around and kicked Adora pushing her to the ground before running off towards the door. Taking advantage of the space I had left for them to escape.

Unfortunately, once they reached the door, they crashed into a force field and feel into the floor. With her hands, Glimmer quickly activated a rune just where Flutterina had fallen shutting them in a magical force field. Damn it… there is no way I could help them right now. Flutterina got up and curiously touched the force field, giving a few laughs.

“I see…” They looked at the rune in the floor and the back at us as we took a step closer to them.

“Give it up, Flutterina. If that’s really who you are” Glimmer ordered.

“Magic, how very clever” they answered.

“Isn’t it? Shadow Weaver helped” Adora commented. Glimmer was just about to talk, but Mermista quickly approached them pushing them both.

“The reveal of how they caught the murderer is my favorite part” I sighed in defeat at the same time Glimmer did. Mermista is so excited about this…

Both began to narrate how they had planned it from the beginning. They had received the idea of setting a trap to catch the spy from Shadow Weaver. They knew that a backup device would be incredibly irresistible to the one who was behind everything that happened. So, they used a distraction a while ago so that the culprit felt comfortable enough to go out and destroy the backup device. Everything had been a great plan to catch the culprit... and it had been incredible. I seriously thought they were upset...

“So that brings us back to you, who are you really, Flutterina?” Glimmer walked until she was completely in front of Flutterina. I watched in amazement as with that arrogant smile Flutterina transformed into Glimmer causing the original to jump backwards and shout in surprise. Then they changed to Bow, Frosta, Perfuma, Mermista, Me and last in Adora.

“Please…” They changed back into their reptilian being, “call me… Double Trouble” they placed a hand on their chest as they looked at us.

“You´re a shapeshifter” said Adora sounding complete surprised.

Bow gasped and I looked at him, “It wasn’t my googles glitching, it was you…” he pointed at Double Trouble. “Pretending to be Frosta at Dryl”

I looked back at Double Trouble, “and Perfuma, don’t shortchange my credits, darling” They bowed slightly after that clarification and once they lifted their head, they licked one of their eyes and then blinked vertically, smiling as they moved their ears slightly. I smiled slightly while everyone else gasped in surprise. That was new, I had never seen them blink vertically. I wish I could have seen it before... “May I say as one actor to another that was truly a masterful performance. I really bought that you two were furious at each other. If you would indulge me, were you inspired from any real emotion or experience” they praised Glimmer and Adora. It seemed that they didn’t care a bit what situation they were in. Their attitude was still exactly the same and this situation made me want to laugh, but I had to put up with it or else it would be more problematic.

“Enough! It’s over, Double Trouble. Now tell us what the Horde is planning” ordered Glimmer.

“Over?” asked Double Trouble and they soon began laughing. “Love, it’s just beginning” they smiled at us. I frowned and looked at them expectably. “The Horde has been planning a massive attack for some time now. I let Catra know that you were going to Dryl. After that all I had to do is plant seeds of doubt, sowing chaos where I could. It wasn’t hard, I just had to keep you isolated and at each other’s throats until the plan was under way” they explained. What massive attack are they talking about…? “Salineas, if the Horde controls the seas, they control Etheria” I looked at Mermista.

“That would never happen. We won’t let it” responded Glimmer. I sighed… “Now that we know their plan, we can stop it”

Double Trouble laughed once again, I looked back at them. “Stop it? Oh, this was a ruse, darling. A distraction. The battle of Salineas is over, it happened earlier this very evening. It´s too late, Salineas is gone…”

“No, no. It´s not too late. It can’t be” Glimmer, placed her hands over Mermista. I placed my hand on Mermista's shoulder quickly and soon we disappeared and appeared in Salineas.

A Horde flag flutters in front of us. We all quickly approached the end of the rock to better visualize what had happened. It was horrible ... The barrier was destroyed, and smoke was coming from everywhere, there were ships destroyed and also... people... Mermista collapsed next to me and Bow quickly knelt beside her. I also knelt beside her and placed my hand on her shoulder, still looking at what Salineas had become in so few hours.

“We can fix this. We have to be able to fix this, right?” I heard Adora talk beside me. Glimmer took a few steps forward and I looked at her.

"This won’t happen again; I won’t let it. We won’t give up” Glimmer declared. Bow and I helped Mermista stood up again. “We will take back Salineas. Take back all of Etheria no matter what it cost. No matter what the Horde throws at us next” I turned my gaze back to Salineas and sighed. I clenched my fist and looked down at my feet. I should have told them…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of drama is coming next week. Hope you enjoyed today's chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I want you to tell me the truth...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TRIGGER WARNING**  
> Slight self-harming and panick attacks

I shifted uncomfortably in my bed; I hadn’t been able to sleep all night... After returning from Salineas I felt awfully bad about what had happened, so I had locked myself in my room. I tried to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes the image of destroyed Salineas appeared in front of me... It was too much. I sat on my bed and held my throbbing head. That's what happens to me for not sleeping at all. I sighed heavily and listened as someone knocked on the door softly. I looked up at the door and gently arranged my hair.

“Come in…” I said. The door opened and I could see Adora poking her head into the room. She smiled at me and entered the room, closing behind her.

“Hey… You okay? You seem a little down since we arrived last night” she sat beside me and placed one of her hands on my shoulder.

“Yeah… I just can’t believe what happened at Salineas” I answered. I feel really bad having to lie to Adora, but I can't tell her that I always knew about Double Trouble... She would end up hating me ... and Adora was the only person I could consider my friend. “What about you and Glimmer, did you fix your problems?” I changed the subject.

She sighed and took his hand off my shoulder, “I don’t know, I thought so, but she’s still keeping things from me and not trusting me!” I looked at her. She’s really having a hard time. “Well, I can't do anything about it. Anyway, I came to warn you that we must go to the war room for the mission reports.” I nodded.

“Why did nobody wake me up to go to one of the missions?” I asked curiously, every time we have missions, someone comes to wake me up if I had not awakened yet, but this time nobody came…

“You looked very tired yesterday and we prefer to let you sleep late” she responded. “Now get ready, I’ll wait for you outside” She patted my shoulder as she stood up from the bed, she walked toward the door and then left the room.

I sighed heavily and got out of bed. I would take a shower as quickly as possible and get dressed so I could accompany Adora. Although I didn't really want to, what would others think if they knew that all this time, I knew about Double Trouble… I shook my head while undressing in the bathroom. Don't think about those things Sirius, considering that they have lied to you all your life about your roots.

I finished bathing and grooming myself quickly. Once ready I left the room and looked at Adora, who was leaning on the wall in front of my door, looking at the floor. I walked over to her and she just looked up at me smiling softly. We both made our way to the war room in silence. Although luckily it wasn't awkward silence, after all Adora is one of the few people I still feel comfortable with. I know that Glimmer and Bow would not have said anything to her just so as not to alarm her, the same situation was with everyone else. They didn't know what I was and that's why they were so friendly with me, but Glimmer and Bow... they just pretended to be my friends...

I scratched my neck gently as we walked feeling a slight burning sensation... I had forgotten the seal, which was now visible on my body completely. I frowned, I must start planning how to get rid of this seal, and now that Double Trouble is locked up, I couldn't ask for their help to find out something about the seal. Maybe in my books I can find something about that. Although from what I had seen when Double Trouble saw the seal on my neck, there didn't seem to be much information in that book. I will have to check it well and verify if there is any useful information.

Once we arrived, the two of us entered and placed ourselves in our places around the table. They were all here, the only ones missing were Adora and me, I guess? Although I think they wouldn't have needed me anyway. I had not participated in any of the missions because I had been locked in my room, it was a great detail that Adora came looking for me.

“Now that we are all here… let’s begin” ordered Glimmer.

“I know it’s been tough going with losing Salineas, but we are picking up the pieces. I’m sure we can turn this around” Bow spoke optimistically. I think he was always the one trying to see the positive side of the situation, but I think that no one thinks the same way now with what just recently happened. I looked down at my feet feeling slightly guilty. Salineas wouldn’t have been destroyed if I had said that Flutterina was the spy “I mean, we captured Double Trouble. They’re refusing to talk to us, but still”. I looked back at Bow at the mention of Double Trouble; it’s pretty obvious that they are not going to say anything to us. “So… uhhh… Swift Wind” Swift Wind hummed in response. “You just got back from scouting the southern coast, what does it looks like?” Bow asked.

“On fire” I sighed heavily at the magic horse’s response.

“anything more specific?” asked Bow again. How can he keep positive in such a situation?

“on lots of fire” answered again Swift Wind.

“Okay… Adora! You came from Plumeria, what’s their status? Any good news?” Bow turned to look at Adora beside him. I looked at Adora, who was frowning and had her arms crossed across her chest, so she had been to Plumeria before she came looking for me.

“Perfuma is securing the Whispering Woods and Frosta reports her kingdom has not been breached…” responded Adora.

“Great!” said Bow enthusiastically.

“Yet…But the Horde’s working on it, day and night non-stop” said Adora. Well, this meeting is going great…

“Well, that… is… okay because Sea Hawk, Spinnerella and Netossa just saved everyone in Seagull* Village…with uhhh… Glimmer, who didn’t tell us she was going, but just kind of showed up…” Bow laughed nervously as he finished talking.

Adora slammed her hands on the table, “Again? Glimmer, you can’t just keep going off on your own” she said seriously. I sighed in defeat, this is getting worse and worse, it seems like they couldn't spend a minute in the same room without being at each other's throats.

Glimmer hummed, “Where have I heard that before? Oh right… When I stayed here to find the Horde spy and Salineas fell” she responded.

“That’s not fair. We didn’t know” This time Adora responded.

“Tell that to Mermista” Glimmer said. I sighed and took a step forward.

“Hey, where is Mermista?” Swift Wind interrupted them. I took a deep breath. Thank God, I didn’t have to step in. They would have ripped my throat… I looked around the room trying to find Mermista without seeing her anywhere… I can't believe I didn’t notice Mermista was missing when we arrived, but… Well, after last night I don't think she is feeling well enough to attend this meeting. So, it's understandable.

“She’s uh… taking some me time” whispered Sea Hawk.

“Right now, I guess we all need some damn me time” I whispered, crossing my arms over my chest looking straight at Bow.

“Me time! Great!” said Bow. Woah, he’s really trying hard right now… “We all could use some of that, so let’s check in with each other more often and Glimmer, if you could…”

Glimmer slammed one of her hands on the table silencing Bow harshly, “I’m not going to hide inside the castle while our people are in danger. I’m the queen, you don’t give me orders” I frowned.

“Okay… I get that you’re upset, but…” Bow began talking softly, but Adora stepped in.

“Don’t talk to Bow like that” Adora defended him.

“A-Adora it’s fine. Glimmer it’s just...” Bow tried to stop her.

I stepped in looking at Bow and Adora, “Guys, let’s just calm down, okay? This is not going to help the situation” I tried to sound as calm as I could, but this situation was getting on my nerves. The burning sensation became much more present in my neck, causing me to instantly place my hand on the area and gently scratch it. Maybe the seal works when I feel stressed...

“I need to stop the Horde. Any way I can. We’re done for today” I looked at Glimmer, who just turned around once she finished talking and left the War room. A few seconds later, a very annoyed Adora walked out the same doors, still complaining about the situation. I looked at Bow and sighed heavily, I slowly made my way to the door and left the room. What a great way to start the day... I don’t want Glimmer to blame Adora for what happened in Salineas if there is someone to blame… that’s me. I should tell Glimmer the truth, but right now I don’t think it’s a good moment. I’ll wait until she’d calmed down and I will tell her the truth. I took a deep breath and sighed.

I should take advantage of the time I have alone for now to finish my scythe. The only part missing was the blade... and I have enough time to do it now. Once I got to my room after walking for a few minutes, I made my way to my desk and started to work carefully. For some reason I was not able to focus on what was in my hands at the time, the burning sensation on my neck was incessant, I could not bear it. And not only that, the images of Salineas returned to my head, the letters, the memory of the wound in my eye, it felt like it was about to explode. I closed my eyes tight and held my head with both hands trying to make all those thoughts fade away. I cannot continue in this way; the guilt will end by devouring me completely. I must tell everyone that I knew Flutterina was Double Trouble, but I don’t want to break my promise with them… Why is everything so complicated?!

A soft knocking caught my attention. That sound had made all my thoughts dissipate quickly. I sighed slightly relieved and got up from my chair, I walked to the door and opened it. In front of me was Glimmer with a worried look. I raised an eyebrow and caressed the nape of my neck softly. A feeling of nervousness began to form in my chest; I don't want to betray Double Trouble, but everyone deserves to know the truth, even if they’re going to hate me after I tell them everything.

“Hey, Glimmer, do you need anything?” I asked softly, she nodded. I moved slightly to the side, letting her enter my room, I closed the door once she was inside and we both walked to the bed, sitting across from each other. It's rare that she has come to talk to me right now... Does she suspect something?

“I wanted to talk with you, about what happened in Dryl… I wanted to talk to you as soon as we were back, but all that mess happened and I didn't have time to do it” she explained. I frowned slightly... So that's what the whole thing is about, I thought she would drop it after questioning me with Adora, but I think I wasn't right.

I shifted uncomfortably on the bed; Even though I was relieved that the topic wasn't about Double Trouble, I couldn't help but feel nervous. What happened in Dryl was too alarming and I had no logical explanation for what had happened, only that the seal had weakened, and I did not plan to tell her that... “what about it?” I asked softly.

“What happened there… it’s not normal… I mean, you’re not supposed to do any magic at all” she placed both of her hands on each of my shoulders looking straight at me with a worried expression.

I moved back a bit, feeling uncomfortable under her touch, causing her hands to move away from my shoulders. “What do you mean by that? I told you already… You know I trained at Mystacor for a couple of years, it’s normal” she looked at me worriedly. I had to try to get her to completely forget about it and leave me alone.

“No, it’s not!” she yelled at me. I looked at her in surprise, clenched my fists tightly, and frowned. The only reason I can't do magic is because they sealed me against my will...

“Why do you keep saying that?” I asked.

“Because it’s dangerous!” she answered. I clenched my teeth tightly.

“I saved your lives! Why is it dangerous, Glimmer?!” I replied annoyed. “What I did at Dryl saved our lives! And still you say it's dangerous?! I don't see anything dangerous in that! In fact, if it weren’t for me, Mermista and Sea Hawk wouldn’t had reached us at time, and what would you have done?! Leave them behind?”

“Of course not!” She took a deep breath, “Sirius, calm down, okay?... I didn’t come here to fight… I just wanted to check on you… You keep scratching your neck from time to time, is there something wrong in it?” She got out of bed and quickly approached me, holding my shoulder. I got up quickly and jerked her hand away from my shoulder.

“There’s nothing wrong in it” I responded harshly. Did she want to check if the seal was on my neck? How much does she know about the seal? Apparently enough if she wants to see my neck...

“Fine, but just let me take a look at it, maybe you’re hurt” She approached me again and held my neck trying to take a look at it. I quickly took her hands away and walked away from her.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Glimmer? I told you already that I there’s nothing on my neck. Can’t you trust me?” I looked at her in complete anger, but she looked at me seriously.

“Just let me look at it! Don’t you understand that there may be something wrong with you?! You’re not meant to do magic!” she yelled at me.

“No, Glimmer! Why are you so insistent?! And what the hell does my neck has to do with me doing magic or not?! Is there something you’re hiding from me?!” She took a step back startled by my words. She stood in silence, apparently, she just realized that she said more than she should have. “What are you hiding for me…?” I asked more softly. I took a step closer toward her and she just stood there in silence looking down at the floor. “Glimmer… tell me…” I pleaded her. Please, Glimmer... If I was ever your friend... tell me... tell me the truth and I will know that you were always my true friend and not that you simply followed Castaspella's orders.

“Nothing… I was just worried you might have been hurt…” she whispered… I averted my pained gaze at her response.

“I’m fine… Now leave me alone…” I said, she tried to get closer to me again, but she quickly retracted herself and walked out of the room. I dropped to the ground and covered my face with one of my hands... She... had the gall to lie to my face... They don’t deserve to know the truth about Double Trouble. Two can play that game, I can be a liar too… But I need to stay calm, I can't let something like this affect you... I should have expected something like this by now. I got up off the floor and ran my hand through my hair. The pain in my neck was much more noticeable now, but I wasn't going to continue paying attention to it.

Since now I can't focus on finishing the scythe, at least I'd look for a way to get rid of the damn seal. I walked slowly over to my bookshelf and picked up the book from last time. I went back to my bed and sat down. I started turning the pages gently until I finally found the one with the seal. I looked at the page for several minutes ... it only said what I already knew, that was not useful to me. I ran my hand over the page gently trying to see if there was something else somewhere. I narrowed my eyes and look at the page... It looked like there were words written at the bottom of the page, but the color of the letters was almost similar to the color of the page, it was impossible to read.

I sighed heavily and look at the page for a long time; If only there was a way to reveal the words... Wait... there was a way. I turned the pages until I reached one of the first pages where another different rune resided. This was a rune used to reveal what is hidden. It was one of the first runes that Castaspella taught me back when I was still in Mystacor. I think right now this is the only thing I'm going to thank her for. Maybe this could help me... I just hope my magic doesn’t backfires.

I went back to the seal page and with one of my hands created the little rune. I frowned and clenched my jaw as I felt an intense pain on the nape of my neck, I swallowed and ran my hand through the intelligible letters, and these soon became letters of black ink. I disappeared the rune and sighed in relief. I shook my head slightly dizzy and closed my eyes for a moment. I opened my eyes softly and blinked to clear my view that was somewhat blurry. Once my eyesight cleared, I looked at the book. Now I could read what was missing, I took a deep breath and started reading.

_The Magic Eater_

_This seal used for the vilest and most ruthless creatures in all of Etheria. Creatures that are unable to be destroyed by any other method. The seal is responsible for eating all the magic inside the host, preventing it from being able to use any type of magic. The seal can be so dangerous that it can even kill the host. In ancient times this was a seal that was used as a torture method for the most horrible criminals. Because when all the magic in your body ends, it begins to destroy the soul of the host. Causing a slow and painful death. This seal is impossible to remove, it is totally irreversible. Once placed, it can never be removed._

_NEVER ATTEMPT TO USE IT!_

I passed the pages quickly, feeling a slight oppression in my stomach. I quickly dropped the book and ran to the bookshelf. I started checking out all the books one by one looking for something about the damn seal. Quickly flipping through the pages without finding a single word about the damn seal. Once I got to the last book. I covered my mouth with one of my hands feeling the urge to vomit. I quickly ran to the bathroom and emptied my empty stomach in the toilet. This can’t be happening…

I leaned against the wall and breathed hard, that couldn't be all... There had to be a way to remove the seal. I had to remove it. This can be it… I’m not a vile creature… I quickly placed both hands on the nape of my neck and began to scratch the skin hard, praying that in this way the seal would be removed, and I would be free at last. I was scratching hard, feeling something running smoothly down my neck and the incredible burning feeling after each scratch. I pulled my hands away after a while and looked at them. They were shaking uncontrollably and were completely covered in my blood. Maybe it had worked. I quickly got off the ground and removed my shirt. I went to the mirror and tried to look at the back of my neck with the reflection. The seal was still plastered on my skin, and lines of blood ran down my back gently. I sighed shakily and started opening each of the drawers in the cabinet, trying to find something sharp.

In one of the drawers there was a small knife, I took it quickly and brought it to the back of my neck. I was about to cut my skin with the knife on my trembling hand, but a knock at the door of my room brought me back to my sense. I looked at myself in the mirror, I was sweaty, my bangs were completely sweaty and remained stuck to my face, drops of sweat ran down my chest and my blue eyes were looking back at me with a panicked expression… I dropped the knife suddenly and left the bathroom. What the hell was I thinking...? I walked to the door and was about to open it until I heard Glimmer's voice outside.

“We need to go! Sirius is fine! We don’t have time!” she yelled. I placed my hand on the door trying to hear something more, but there was only complete silence. I think whoever were out there besides Glimmer, they had already disappeared...

“Shit… What’s happening to me…?” I leaned my head against the door for a few minutes to calm myself. Once I felt slightly better, I walked back to the bathroom at a slow pace. I saw the small knife on the ground and felt the urge to vomit again, but I didn't.

I quickly picked up the small knife and put it in its place. I went to the sink and washed my face as well as the nape of my neck, I passed a damp cloth on my back, removing the lines of dried blood that had remained. I placed the cloth aside once I was finished and placed both my hands on the counter. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. What was I thinking? what would have happened if I had opened the door? Glimmer would have seen me, and everything would have gone to hell. Maybe if it had just been Adora she would have helped me... but not as much as... them, who have always been with me, comforting me in their style, without needing to say a single word because with one of their caresses it was more than enough to make me feel better. Double Trouble...

I let out a shaky breath and left the bathroom. I hastily dressed myself without paying attention to the scratches that had not been bandaged or cared for in any way. I had to see them... They were the only ones I could trust right now... I left the room quickly and walked at a fast pace, Double Trouble is in that room that they said was the one for the prisoners. Once I got to the door, two soldiers looked at me. I looked at them seriously, praying that none of them noticed my disheveled appearance or the red marks that adorned my neck.

“I’m going to interrogate them, order from the queen” They both stepped aside and let me into the room without questioning anything.

I entered the room where in the middle was a rather comfortable looking sofa where Double Trouble was lying, admiring their nails, surrounded by a force field. Behind me the doors closed, and Double Trouble looked up at me, blinking vertically.

They laughed softly, “I thought you had forgotten about me, my star. What brings you here, are you trying to take information out of me too? Because I would have to tell you that you will not success” they said mockingly. I stood there in silence my hands shaking and my heart beating hard on my chest.

They stood up from the sofa and looked at me with a confused expression, “Sirius...?” they softly asked. I slowly approached the force field and stopped once in front of them. I opened my mouth trying to say something, but the only thing I felt was my lip slightly trembling and how my eyes started to water. I looked down at my feet and placed one of my hands against the force field. “Sirius, what’s wrong…? W-what happened to your neck…? Did someone did this to you?” I closed my eyes tightly and clenched my teeth.

My legs gradually gave away to my weight and I ended up sitting on the floor with my hand still against the force field. Tears running down my cheeks as I remembered the words from the book.

"I am a vile and ruthless creature... This seal... is meant to kill me. They have always wanted to get rid of me... The seal will consume me once it finishes eating all the magic in my body...” I sobbed softly. Breathing became increasingly difficult and I felt as if something was completely squeezing me. “I… I can… can’t breathe…” I gasped. My eyes still closed tightly.

“I’m going to die… I’m… I’m nothing but a… a… monster… They… they… want me dead… I… I…can’t…” In front of my eyes each of my friends appeared looking at me with hatred and disgust.

“No, you’re not going to die, darling, and you are NOT a monster. We are going to find a way to get rid of that stupid seal, okay?” they asked. I sobbed slightly. “Sirius, look at me… look at me… follow my breathing, okay?” I looked at them and nodded slightly. They smiled softly at me. They began to breathe softly, and I followed their movements.

“It’s okay… it’s okay…” My breathing gradually returned to normal and I no longer felt imprisoned. “You know I’m going to tell you a secret. I can’t cry on cue, whenever a roll calls for tears, the only thing that works is thinking about children falling, they’re tears of laughter, but no one can tell the difference” I softly laughed. “Now you know one of my deepest secrets, don't tell anyone, it would ruin my image” they said jokingly.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone” My gaze softened, and I smiled softly, “Thanks…” I whispered. They nodded, I leaned back against the force field. That feeling of anxiety was fading little by little... definitely, Double Trouble is the only one who can calm me in any situation...

I think everything that had happened until now needed to leave my body ... if they hadn't knocked on the door when I was in the bathroom with that small knife against the nape of my neck... what would have happened? I think this anxiety in my chest that I had been holding in my body since I discovered the file would have completely destroyed me. But I couldn't do anything, I couldn't go back in time, what's done is done. But I can't pretend I'm okay with all these lies every day anymore…

I think I just have to accept the fact that they were never my friends. Still I want to discover the truth of who I really am. I know Castaspella will come because Glimmer couldn't verify the seal on my neck, but Castaspella will surely know instantly and I'm not going to let her fix that stupid seal on the back of my neck. I do not want more lies or deceit. I am going to know the truth, whatever it costs. I can't continue this way; I don't want something like what happened today to happen again. I must put a stop to all lies and demand the truth. I deserve it... because it is my life and not theirs.

I don't know how much time I spend in that room with Double Trouble. The only thing I knew is that Double Trouble stayed by my side talking about anything that could keep me distracted, about people they had tricked and how easy it had been, the things they had gotten, and I was eternally grateful for what they did. When I finally felt completely fine, I said goodbye to them and left the room. As I walked through the long corridors of the palace illuminated by the orange rays of sunset, for the first time these days I felt completely calm. As if a weight had been lifted from my whole body.

The feeling in my neck had finally disappeared, now the only thing left was the burning feeling of the wounds that I had caused myself hours before, but I only had to apply an ointment, bandage them once I get to my room and everything would be fine afterwards. I was grateful that Double Trouble hadn't insisted on knowing how the injuries on my neck had been caused, although I know that sooner or later, I would have to tell them. Well, they practically saw me break down... so, I know I can trust them with something like this.

Once I got to my room, I was surprised to see Adora outside my door. I approached her and I could hear her soft sobs. I looked at her in amazement and without thinking it twice I hugged her gently. She hugged me back and sobbed against my chest. I know that Adora and the others don't know what I am, so they are not to blame for anything. Only Glimmer and Bow know what I am. I stroked Adora's back gently and opened the door to my room. The two of us entered without breaking the hug and I closed the door behind us.

“Am I not trying hard enough...?” she sobbed. I looked down at her. “I mean... If I have tried hard enough… Queen Angella will still be here…” I frowned.

“Adora, did you fight with Glimmer?” I asked. She continued sobbing… “Listen, Glimmer is just… in so much stress right now, you just need to give her space” I said. She gently pulled away from me and wiped away her tears.

“You’re right… I’ll just do what I gotta do to stop the Horde” I raised an eyebrow at her answer. “Mara’s weapon…” I sighed. She looked at me and slightly smiled. “Hey… you look better” she commented.

I laughed softly, “I feel better” I answered honestly. “Hey, you wanna help me, finish my new weapon?” I asked. I wanted to keep her distracted from what was causing her pain. She smiled and nodded. I guess bandaging myself can wait, but for now I hope my hair is enough to cover the wounds.

So, the two of us approached my desk and got down to work. I know that Adora is not particularly good with technology, so she was only in charge of passing me the tools when I asked for them. And even then, she still had problems because she was sometimes confused the tools. Still it wasn't like I was going to be bothered by something like that. We spent a long time laughing and joking as we finished setting up the blade. She told me what had happened a few hours ago, it seems that Bow, Sea Hawk and Swift Wind had been kidnapped and she, Glimmer and Mermista had come to look for me to go and rescue him, but since I had not responded they were gone. Once we were finally done. I got up from the chair with the scythe in hand and shook it lightly. It had a perfect balance. I smiled. This is all possible because of Double Trouble, I owe them so much…

“Hey Sirius, wanna test it out?” she asked cheerfully.

“Hell yeah” I answered. The two of us quickly left the room and ran into the garden so that I could test my new weapon.

I know that once Adora discovers what I am, she could come to hate me, that's why I will take advantage of these moments when she still sees me as Sirius and not as a monster. I wish that none of this had happened, but as I said before, what was done is done, and I would rather live in misery a thousand times than continue living a lie, but if they’re gonna continue playing the game of lies, I can play too... The only thing I regret is keeping all that pain inside me to the point where it almost destroyed me… I would not do that again... I won’t keep silence anymore… I will know the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed today's chapter!!!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth behind the big lie.

I turned the page gently and sighed, no matter how much I look in one of the books more calmly, I will never find anything. The seal was too ancient and had long since ceased to be used, couldn't they have looked for an easier seal? Dammit. I closed the book and put it aside, closed my eyes and leaned against the trunk. The garden early in the morning was a good place to relax or read, and well I think that spending too much time locked in my room had not done me any good. The breeze gently caressed my face and I smiled, after what had happened yesterday, I felt very good. I dare say that better than ever... This feeling of calmness was new to me, long before I discovered the file, I always had a strange feeling of insecurity inside me, which only got worse when I discovered the file, but now I feel... calm

“Hey Sirius!” I heard someone call me, I opened my eyes and saw Adora and Bow approaching me. I smiled and got up from my place, taking the book in the process.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” I asked.

Bow took a step closer looking at me a little insecurely, “So, we were going to Mara’s ship. And maybe you could lend me a hand… Adora told me about this new super weapon you made on your own” I looked at Adora from the corner of my eye and then focused my attention back on Bow.

“Yeah, of course. Maybe then you can take a look at my new weapon?” I suggested. He looked at me in surprise and then smiled cheerfully.

“Sounds like a good plan! Let’s go!” he said cheerfully. I was about to take a step when I remembered the letter I had received this morning, I stopped dead in my tracks and looked away scratching my nape, which was now covered in bandages hidden from view under my clothes, Glimmer had given me when we met in the hall this morning and I couldn't just ignore it, I wish I could, but I can't.

“yeah… I can’t right now. Castaspella is coming to have a little talk with me, but after I finish talking with her, I’ll join you guys, okay? I promise I will be there” I said. Adora placed one of her hands on his shoulder and took a step closer.

“Do you know what she wants to talk to you about?” she asked curiously.

“No, I have no idea” I lied. I knew perfectly well why Castaspella wanted to speak to me so urgently. Although I wish I were wrong, and it was just a casual chat... asking me how I was doing or something like that.

“Well… I guess we’ll see you at Mara’s ship, okay?” Bow replied and I nodded.

“See you later, Sirius” Adora said goodbye. They both walked away from me and I let out a weary sigh. I really wish I didn't have to deal with this now. I looked at the book in my hands and opened it on one of the pages where an open letter resided with only five words.

_Sirius, we need to talk_

She didn't even say hello at the beginning, she was straight to the point. I slammed the book shut and shook my head, if I wanted answers this would be the best time to get them. Glimmer had told me that Castaspella would come in a short time. I wish I could speak to Double Trouble, but I don't think it's possible with Glimmer in the palace, she might find out at some point. I was lucky that the guards didn't say anything to her yesterday, although I think Glimmer's bad temper right now is why no one wants to talk to her or say something that she might see as unnecessary.

I shook my pants a little and headed back to my room. I wanted to leave the book in place before Castaspella arrived, and I think I should apply the ointment to my wounds again. They were starting to hurt again, I think my nails had gotten quite deep, after all I had scratched many times in the same area, it was obvious that the wounds would be deep. As I walked through the corridors no noise was heard, everything was so silent... Not like before all this happened, before these corridors burst with laughter and screams of joy, now it was simply overwhelming silence.

I got to my room after a while and quickly walked in. I placed the book down and walked to the bathroom. I quickly took my shirt off and started to remove the bandage, it was a bit stained with blood, but luckily it wasn't as much as when I woke up this morning, it seemed as if my pillow had been killed in cold blood. I applied the ointment gently, using the mirror to visualize the wound site correctly and then bandaged the wound.

I sighed and looked at my reflection in the mirror, my black hair was a bit long, the fringe that covered my right eye reached my chin and my eyes no longer had any shine, it was just a dull blue. I gave a halfhearted laugh... That's what life does to you. At least I look a little better than yesterday. The images of my sweaty and scared face were reflected in the mirror for a second.

I heard someone knock on the door and I sighed again. It was time to face reality about everything. I put on my shirt and made sure the bandages were covered by it. I gently adjusted my hair and left the bathroom. I opened the door to my room and two guards were in front of me, looking intently at me.

“Castaspella requires your presence” One of them said. I nodded and stepped out of my room, closing the door behind me. The three of us started walking in awkward silence. I think my hopes that it was just a casual chat had been thrown out the window. If this were just a casual talk, she would have gone straight to my room…

Once we got to a room, the guards opened the doors for me, and I entered without hesitation. Inside the room were both Glimmer and Castaspella. Both have serious expressions and neither has deigned to greet me. I walked over to where they were and sat on the couch in front of them.

“So, what’s with all this secrecy, why didn’t you come to my room?” I asked directly. The two looked at each other and then looked at me.

“Sirius, I've been talking to Glimmer about this... but I wanted to hear your opinion on it…” Castaspella responded. I raised one of my eyebrows and looked at Glimmer.

“What were you talking about?” I asked.

“I want you to go back with me to Mystacor…” she said. I frowned instantly. “Glimmer told me about your newfound ability to perform magic” I clenched my teeth. “And I want you to come back with me and for you to become my apprentice again” Castaspella got up from her chair and approached me. She placed one of her hands on my shoulder and I looked at her, she had a nervous smile plastered on her face.

“really…?” I asked in a whisper.

“Of course!” Castaspella answered.

“Sirius imagine how strong you can become if you go with my aunt and return to Mystacor! It is a great opportunity to control your powers” I looked at Glimmer as she began walking toward us. I laughed reluctantly.

“I thought you were against me doing magic” I whispered once again. I looked at her and for a few seconds her expression became somewhat nervous and unsure, but that expression was quickly replaced by a smile.

“That was before, but now that I've thought about it better ... we can't miss this opportunity to have someone like you. You could even be my right hand!” Glimmer said cheerfully. I felt a subtle movement in my shoulder and as soon as Castaspella's hand was placed on the nape of my neck. I held her wrist tightly and got up from the couch. I stared at her and tightened my grip on her wrist. She winced.

“Yeah, I'll obviously become strong with a seal eating all my magic” I said sarcastically. Castaspella looked at me in amazement and beside me, Glimmer made one of her runes appear. I pushed Castaspella away and as soon as I did, the rune disappeared.

“W-what are you talking about?” She asked, she sounded a bit confused, but still I wasn't going to believe her.

“Cut the crap! The seal they placed on me to retain my powers! The Magic Eater!” I yelled at her. She looked at me terrified and stepped forward trying to get closer to me, but Glimmer held her arm. I laughed slightly. “You know what? I almost believe you all… I almost believed you were my family and my friends, but I think I was wrong. You all are just afraid of me and you wanted to get rid of me by placing this seal that could kill me any moment!” Glimmer looked surprised for a moment as she looked back at Castaspella, who keep her eyes on me.

“Siri…” Castaspella began talking.

“You don’t get to call me like that anymore! Not after everything you kept from me!” I yelled at her. She visibly flinched and took a step back. “I want the truth! Everything!” They looked at each other and then Castaspella sighed.

“Sirius… you don’t know about this; you’re better left in the dark…” she replied.

“No, I don’t want to live in the dark, I want the truth. I deserve it because it’s my life, not yours. I’ve already read all the letters you send to King Micah and Glimmer, so you don’t need to keep this bullshit. Tell me everything about the Nightcrawlers and how to take the seal off” I answered.

“Fine… But you asked for it…

Nightcrawlers were magical creatures, with a great deal of magic within them. They did not need runes to perform magic nor did they use dark magic. We never understood what gave them powers and they never explained to us the reason why they could use magic, what we did know is that they could be very lethal. They were capable of doing things that we with highly advanced magic would never be able to do.

When I was a student at Mystacor Nightcrawlers were part of us. They had been for a long time, we practiced together and learned from each other, but they always kept their distance from us, they were arrogant, pedantic, selfish and had a very strong character. They always acted as if they were much more skillful than us... Each of us Etherians and Nightcrawlers never talked to each other, the Nightcrawlers didn’t seem to want to establish any relationship with any of us, but if we wanted to learn how it was that they were so powerful, we needed spend time with them and analyze them. We never thought that they would be able to cause so much harm to any of us, after so many years living together, even if we did not speak... Until that fateful day… there was a great catastrophe, a single Nightcrawler killed 20 students with a single attack, only one person from that group survived. That person stated that she had been making fun of everyone and killed them one by one just for fun.

The Nightcrawler never said anything to defend herself, they were going to prosecute her the same day. The nightcrawler stood with her head held high the entire time without showing regret, she was even given the opportunity to be forgiven if she just knelt in front of the Head Sorceresses and gave up her powers, but she never did, she never knelt or showed fear. Then they decided that it was better if they her, because she was extremely dangerous, but the other Nightcrawlers broke into the trial and destroyed the place. That was the moment we realized the dangerous and erratic powers that the Nightcrawlers possessed, their selfish and arrogant nature led them to their own doom.

After those horrible events, any ties we had with them were broken. Rumors everywhere began to spread about the Nightcrawlers, and not only that. When they cut ties with everyone, crimes began to occur in all kingdoms. The Head Sorceresses did their best to wipe any knowledge of the Nightcrawlers off the face of the earth and soon they became a legend for most of the inhabitants of Etheria, but for each of those who were on the day of that horrible disaster, it became a dark stain on their memories.

The Nightcrawlers returned to their place of origin, far from all civilization, Diamond Cave, where I found you... From what we know of that day, the Nightcrawlers were the first to fall to Hordak. Everything was destroyed. No one survived... Only you... I just couldn't leave you alone that day, you were just a baby. I thought that if I took you with me, I could mold you to be a normal Etherian and not a Nightcrawler... But I realized very late that this was never going to be possible. The day you had the accident I knew it was a waste to try to teach you how to control your power, that's why we sealed it. I brought you to Bright Moon because I knew you couldn't continue living calmly in Mystacor and asked Glimmer and Bow to watch over you...” she looked straight at me. I frowned and looked back at her. “Now that you know the truth, that your people were murderers, do you still want to find a way to take the seal off?” she asked.

“Then I die?!” I yelled at her. “The hell are you trying to say? I haven’t done anything to deserve this thing!” I took a step forward.

“You don’t understand Sirius… Your power is too unpredictable, you know what happened that day you tried to show me your abilities, you could have hurt someone!” Castaspella took a deep breath.

“The only person I hurt that day was myself” I answered. “I was only a child, are you telling me that your other apprentices didn’t make mistakes when they were just beginning? And just because I made a little mistake trying to make you proud, I get to die as if nothing” I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest.

“I’m not going to let you die, just let me take you back to Mystacor and we will find another seal that can contain your magic” She took a step forward… Isn't she going to stop insisting? A strong tightness in my chest began to appear and I clenched my fists tightly.

I shook my head, “No, I don’t deserve a seal. How do I even know you are not lying about that?! How do I know that it’s true?” I asked.

“Why would I lie about my fellow sorceress getting killed?” She looked at me seriously, I bit my lip and shook my head.

“You know the story... The same horror story that was told in the corridors of Mystacor. The one of monsters that finished everything in their path... those monsters that you were so afraid of when you were a kid, were your own relatives” She walked towards me and held my arm. I looked at her, she was looking at me with pleading eyes. “Come back with me…? I’m sure we might be able to change the seal… I didn’t know they had used that seal. I never saw it… Please, come back with me” she placed her hand on my cheek.

“But, even if it’s true what you say to me, I’m not like them… You know that… I don’t need the seal… And if you’re not going to help me get rid of it. Then I guess we’re done, you won’t have to see me anymore, we won’t be family anymore…” I laughed softly “But then I guess we never were… You were just scared of me. Like everyone else” I held her hand gently and pulled it away from my face. I looked at Glimmer who was looking at me with regret. I turned around and walked to the door.

“Sirius, don’t do this!” Castaspella screamed at me. I stopped and looked at the floor.

“Do what? Try to be free?” I looked back at them.

“Sirius, that’s not what I mean, and you know that! What if you end up hurting someone?” Castaspella asked with concern. It is true, she was not worried that I could die at any time, she was only worried about what I could get to do if I managed to make magic again.

I took a deep breath, “This is the last time I will say it and I hope it stays in your head… I will never return to Mystacor with you, no matter how much you ask me to, and I honestly don’t want to see you ever again in my life, if what you say It is true or not, and I come from a family of murderers, I don’t care. You had no right to lie to me about who I really was and if I recall correctly, I haven’t killed anyone. Maybe if you really cared about me and explained everything to me from the beginning, the two of us would have found a solution together, but you decided to take the easy path and leave me at the mercy of people who you knew wanted me dead from the beginning” Castaspella looked at me with tears in her eyes, covering her mouth with her hands trying to cover up her sobs.

I looked at Glimmer, “I just want to ask you something… Did you ever see me as a real friend?” she opened her mouth to talk, but nothing came out. “I thought so…” I whispered. Without waiting any longer, I left the room and walked slowly towards the exit... I promised the others that I would go as soon as I finished, and I was not going to break my promise.

As I walked through the forest, I couldn't help but think of everything Castaspella had said. I couldn't get into my head that my relatives were murderers, but for what other reason would everyone be scared of them? What Castaspella said makes sense.

Although I wish it were a lie... If it were, maybe they wouldn't have treated me that way, nor would they have put this seal on me. Everyone thought that at any moment I would become like them, and they still think so. But I am not going to allow them to do something to me that I don’t deserve. I did nothing to deserve the seal, it seems totally unfair to me to be judged for something that I didn’t do. I sighed heavily and ran my hand through my hair, it's not fair... I was only a child; I didn’t deserve that seal; I was still learning.

Without realizing it after a while I got to the ship, it was almost dusk, luckily the ship was open, so I guess they are still here. I entered the ship at a slow pace and observed everything around me. Where are they? Did they leave? No, they would not have left the ship open like this.

“Adora? Bow?” I called for them, my voice echoing around the ship. I raised an eyebrow. “I guess they left” I started walking toward the exit, but a sudden knock called my attention.

“Wait! I’m here!” Bow came out from under the ship's control panel. I walked toward him and kneeled beside him.

“You okay?” I asked, as he continued caressing his forehead with a pained expression.

“Yeah… Uh…” he responded. I looked around trying to find Adora, but she was nowhere to be found. I looked back at Bow.

“Where’s Adora?” I asked. Bow stopped caressing his forehead and looked at me with a smile.

“She said she was going to have a look around” he answered. I nodded and as soon as the conversation was over an awkward atmosphere began to surround us. Bow looked at me nervously and I sat next to him. Guess I should tell him… Glimmer already knows so…

“So… How have you been?” he asked nervously. I smiled.

“I know I’m a Nightcrawler, Bow” I answered. I looked at him and he looked at me in surprise.

“I…I… H-How did you… did you find out?” he asked.

“I found the file with Castaspella’s letter…And today… I confronted her to tell me the truth, Glimmer was there today too. I know that I come from a murderer family, that I have a freaking seal and that you were never my real friends” I laughed reluctantly.

“What? No, we were your friend, for real!” I looked at him in surprise at his sudden outburst. “I guess we were a little scared at the beginning, but we were really your friends, because we know that you’re not like them. You see Adora, she was from the Horde, but she’s not like them.” He placed one of his hands on my shoulder.

“Not everyone looks at me the same way you do Bow, I really hoped they do, but they don’t and they never will, they will keep looking back at the things my relatives did, and Adora… she’s She-Ra everyone will obviously grow to love her, but me…? I’m no one” I looked down at the metal surface.

“You are someone, you’re Sirius… You’re the voice of reason on all our plans! You always know what to do, you never give up, you’ll risk your lives for any of us…” I looked back at Bow, who had a sad expression. “You always have a solution and I can’t even get my friends to talk again to each other”

“Bow… don’t think like that, okay. They’re just having a hard time dealing with everything… Bow, you are the one who holds us together, you are the one who keeps us full of hope. I know you feel like you can't do anything right now about Adora and Glimmer, but give them time and you will see how everything is solved” he looked at me, and then we both smiled at each other.

I laughed nervously, “I’m really bad with words, I hope I comforted you at least a little” he laughed slightly.

“yeah, you did… I’m serious, Sirius… We are friends, I know we were meant to watch over you, but we did it because we were worried about you… about what they might do to you, if you did something that might risk everyone’s lives by accident” he said, his eyes full with concern.

I sighed, “I don’t know Bow… What if what they say it’s true…? That I might turn out like them…”

“That’s not going to happen, you know why? Because you’re Sirius… and I know you’ll never become one of them” I laughed softly and nodded. His gaze suddenly turned sadder as he looked down at his hands. “what I don’t know if that if you might be able to trust us again after hiding this from you all of these years?” I looked at him in surprise and then smiled softly, I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“With time… maybe” I whispered. He looked back at me and smiled softly. “Well, enough sad moments for now. I’m sorry I didn’t bring my scythe; I came here in a rush. So, we might as well work in the ship, yeah?” I patted his shoulder a couple of times and he nodded.

After that we both got to work. Bow went back under the control panel while I passed him the tools and checked if there was a change in the ship, but unfortunately, we could not get anything to work, although I'm not complaining. I mean, repairing this ship is definitely going to take a long time.

After working for a while, I walked away from Bow to check the ship. This technology was awesome, if Bow ever makes this thing work, I will make him an altar. I place my hand on one of the dusty surfaces and gently stroked it, brushing all the dust off it. Suddenly I heard a surprised gasp from Bow and I quickly turned around looking at a woman with a mop of gray hair and purple robes holding Bow.

“You’re not Mara!” she exclaimed and Bow automatically pushed her off him while screaming, followed by a thump and a groan from him.

Just as I was about to walk towards Bow, Adora and Swift Wind entered the control booth. “Madame Razz?” Adora asked, she sounded like she’d been running because of the soft panting.

“Adora, help me find Mara. You know where she is” Madame Razz demands as she begins walking around as if searching for something. I walked towards Bow just like Adora.

“Hey, Adora” I greeted her.

“Hey, Sirius, I see that you make it” she said cheerfully.

“Adora, who’s that lady?” asked Bow. I nodded, asking myself the same thing.

“It’s okay, it’s just Razz” she answered.

Bow got up from the ground, “Madame Razz?” said woman suddenly appeared in front of us startling us. I took a step back cautiously.

“Adora!” she exclaimed, she turned around and held Adora’s arm, “You need to talk to Mara. You’ve everything you need”

Adora looked down in apparent confusion and worry, “I have everything I need…” she suddenly gasped and pulled out something like an emblem. Madame Razz stepped aside and Adora quickly ran to the control panel.

“What are you doing?” Bow asked while Adora looked everywhere looking for something.

She walked to another spot on the panel and gasped, “Huh, wait, I know this” I got a little closer to Adora and I could see how she placed the emblem in a slot with the same exact shape. “She-Ra” she said. The emblem began to glow and soon the entire room was illuminated, and in the midst of us, a girl with a braid was seen, apparently quite hurt by how she walked and by the very visible wounds on her arms.

Light Hope suddenly appeared behind Mara, “What are you doing, Mara? You have de-de-destroyed my interplanetary systems. You´re be-be-behaving erratically. Where’s the sword Mara?” Light Hope asked.

“The sword is gone” answered Mara as she leaned on the control panel. “There’s not going to be a She-Ra anymore” Mara walked pass Light Hope and leaned against another panel visibly in pain.

“It’s your destiny to be She-Ra” replied Light Hope.

“She-Ra’s destiny was to be a part of your machine” responded Mara. “But I won’t ever let you use her again…”

“The heart of Etheria has been activated. Your mission will be fulfilled. There will be peace throughout the galaxy. You will be a Hero” explained Light Hope.

Mara slammed her hands on the panel, “How does destroying worlds brings peace?” Mara looked back at Light Hope.

“You´re trying to… di-disable me. It will not work. The heart of Etheria would achieve its function as will you. You are She-Ra. This is your destiny” I frowned at Light Hope’s words…

“You’re not Light Hope” Mara turned around with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I’m the same basic operating system” replied Light Hope.

“You’re not her and you don’t get to tell me what my destiny is” Mara responded and then deactivated Light Hope. “Activating Portal into the dimension of Despondos in three, two, one…” Mara’s holographic from disappeared.

“Adora” a voice echoed in the room. Adora turned around and I quickly followed her, behind, in front of the pilot's seat was the holographic figure of Mara. “I know you’re there, Razz said you’ll be there”

“Mara?” Adora asked, unable to believe what her eyes showed her. Adora walked over to Mara's hologram. The hologram raised her hand, and Adora made the same movement, touching her hands for a millisecond before Mara gasped in pain and held her side as she sat up. “I don’t have much time, huh… I barely made it out, if you’re seeing this, it means you´re the new She-ra. It means I failed. I don’t know what they told you, but it wasn’t all bad at first. We were the first ones to settle Etheria, to really study this planets magic” Mara took a deep breath, “How could it go so wrong? You can’t trust Light Hope. She’s been reprogramed to set off the weapon at any cost… The weapon” Mara explained.

“The weapon…? Adora walked closer to Mara’s hologram. “what is it?”

“I didn’t know what they were doing until too late. I knew they were rerouting Etheria’s magic for their own purposes, *safing it in, collecting it in the planet’s core” Mara continued explaining.

“The heart of Etheria…” whispered Adora.

“The heart of Etheria project, it was supposed to be an energy source, capable of so much good, but that’s not what they did. My people turned our planet, all of Etheria, into a weapon and She-Ra is the key”

“What…?” Adora asked in disbelief.

“I opened a portal to a completely empty dimension and pulled Etheria in. I hid us from the rest of the universe. To keep everyone safe, this is the one place they’ll never find us. The weapon can’t hurt anyone else here. I saw what they would do, the deaths that will follow. I couldn’t even stop them before, but I can now. Hiding is our only option. Adora this isn’t over, the heart of Etheria is still *safining magic, storing it. It’s unstable, it will tear Etheria apart if it goes off again” Mara gasped in pain. “So, it’s up to you now. I couldn’t stop it, in the end I wasn’t strong enough, but you, Adora, you’ll be more powerful than they ever planed” Tears began to gather in Mara’s eyes. “Adora, I believe in you. You can save the world we love” Everything went off, multiple chills ran through my body, even before she died, she smiled.

“The weapon… the weapon is Etheria and Mara… sacrificed herself to save everyone” I approached Adora at a slow pace and looked at her, some tears ran down her cheeks. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at me, I smiled slightly, and she suddenly hugged me. I sighed and stroked her back gently. I think after all I am not the only one discovering that his life is a lie. I wish it were just me who was in this situation.

Madame Razz walked towards the pilot's seat and laughed softly, “she was brave, my Mara” she placed the pie on the seat, “for you, Mara dearie”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed today's chapter, the great revelation about Sirius relatives!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fractures

I gently pushed Adora away from me and looked at her face while holding her shoulders, her cheeks were slightly soaked with tears and her nose a little red from crying. She looked at me and nodded, as if to say she was fine. I took a deep breath and looked at Madame Razz, who was looking at the pilot's seat where Mara's hologram had been seconds before.

“What do we do…? if the weapon is as dangerous as Mara said, we gotta do something” Bow said as he approached us. I crossed my arms over my chest.

“We do what’s right, we gotta stop that thing before it’s too late” Adora responded with full determination, any trace of sadness had been left behind.

“We need to tell the others about this thing, they deserve to know what we just find out” I commented seriously, if at any time this weapon came on, we could all be in danger, the others deserved to know this too, so that we can all devise a plan to end the weapon.

“Then we need to get to the castle and tell them” Adora said, Bow and I nodded in response. Adora turned to look at Madame Razz and then turned to us. “I will be with you in a second, you can wait for me outside” we nodded once again. Both Bow and I walked out of the ship, leaving Adora, Swift Wind, and Madame Razz inside the ship. I sighed once out of the ship and ran a hand through my hair looking up at the night sky. I don't know how to feel about all of this, Mara sacrificed herself for everything, she gave us the opportunity to live. I understand why Adora reacted that way, it is normal... Knowing that someone sacrificed their life for what they believed was right. It is an honorable thing. I closed my eyes; may the stars take care of you, Mara.

Hearing footsteps behind us, I directed my gaze towards Adora, who was coming out of the ship next to Swift Wind with an expression somewhat hurt, but at the same time full of determination. She approached us and nodded. The three of us got on Swift Wind’s back and he quickly took off. We couldn’t waste our time. As soon as we get to Bright Moon, we had to tell everything we had discovered to everyone. I only hope that Glimmer can understand the gravity of the situation in which we might find ourselves.

The night breeze caressed my face as we flew, I directed my gaze downwards, where the only thing you could see were trees everywhere, everything was completely silent. I looked up, in the distance you could see the castle and shining to one side of it, the Moonstone. Once we reached the castle Swift Wind descended in front of the entrance and we got off his back and then entered quickly. We walked toward the war room and upon reaching it, Adora ordered one of the guards, that was patrolling at the time, that she called everyone to a meeting. We placed ourselves in our positions around the table in the war room, waiting for everyone to arrive, each of us with a serious expression plastered on our faces. Although, considering how late it is, I assumed that everyone should be asleep by now, but this is important, they can sleep when we finish explaining everything.

A short time later, Frosta, Perfuma and Mermista entered the war room at a slow pace with a tired expression etched on their faces. It was just as I had predicted, everyone had been asleep. Only Glimmer was missing to arrive, I took a deep breath and looked at Adora. Seconds later, both Glimmer and Shadow Weaver entered the room, but remained near the door. I frowned when I saw Shadow Weaver, but I didn't say anything about it, I directed my gaze to Glimmer, who for a second looked at me with regret. I completely ignored her and looked back at Adora.

Adora then looked at Bow and nodded, “Bow” Bow looked at Adora and nodded with a serious look, he placed his hands on the control panel and holographic figures began to appear in front of us. Adora began to explain everything that had happened with Mara and about the weapon, what it will do to Etheria. As soon as Adora finished explaining in front of us the hologram that simulated Etheria and the weapon that inhabited it, began to move, the magenta light within it began to expand until the world that simulated Etheria exploded in thousands of pieces.

“That’s really going to happen? To Etheria? To… To us?” Perfuma asked worriedly while holding her face with both of her hands. Bow, Adora and I looked at each other.

“The heart of Etheria nearly destroyed everyone in Mara’s time and it’s gotten stronger, more volatile over the centuries. If it goes off now… we have to make sure it never goes off again” Bow explained with complete seriousness. I nodded softly agreeing with him. I heard Mermista complain as she usually does and I looked at her, she had her arms lying on the table with a look of irritation.

“But if we can stop it from going off it would be much better, that way we can avoid a catastrophe before it can happen” I placed my hand on the table as I spoke calmly, looking at the holographic pieces floating around us.

“So, how do we stop it?” asked Frosta.

“Stop it?” I looked straight at the door where Glimmer and Shadow Weaver remained next to each other, I frowned in irritation. Does she think she has the right to express an opinion in this situation? she is not even part of the alliance.

Shadow Weaver stepped forward toward the table, “The real question is: How do you intend to use this to your advantage?” she asked while gently tapping the holographic pieces with her hand. I clenched my fist looking at her in complete disbelieve.

“uh, we’re not, you saw the simulation, we have to disable it” Adora placed both of her hands on the table as she answered to Shadow Weaver’s ridiculous question.

“and throw away such power? Perhaps the first ones were fools for storing so much raw energy at the heart of the planet, but now that it’s there…” Shadow Weaver responded.

I slammed my hands against the table, “are you out of your mind? That raw energy can destroy all of Etheria in seconds, trying to control it is not an option!” I answered harshly. Shadow Weaver looked at me and frowned slightly. Neither of us look away from each other. I wasn't going to let her have a say in this, it was too dangerous to use that power… Etheria could completely disappear and with her all of us.

“What if there was a way to channel that magic ourselves?” Glimmer said, I instantly looked at her.

“The princesses are powerful, but with that magic they would be unstoppable” Shadow Weaver replied, I clenched my jaw hard without believing what I was seeing in front of me. Glimmer was being carried away by Shadow Weaver's words. Adora, Bow and I looked at each other.

“We’d be supercharged. We could take down the Horde” She said enthusiastically. I took a step back and crossed my arms over my chest looking straight at Glimmer. I can't believe it… a few hours ago she was completely worried because I could do magic and because I'm supposed to be super dangerous, and now that we tell her about this dangerous weapon that is in the heart of Etheria she is more than excited to try to use it, Impossible…

“You gotta be kidding…” I mumbled under my breath.

“Are you seriously considering this?” Adora asked in annoyance as she raised one of her hands pointing at Bow and me. “You heard Bow and Sirius. It’s an unstable superweapon, tampering with it is way too dangerous” Adora explained.

“Dangerous? Every day the Horde claims more territory” a map with the different towns in Etheria appeared along with the symbol of the Horde over those who had been conquered by it. I looked up at Glimmer after taking a quick glance at the map.

“I thought you didn't like erratic and uncontrollable magic, because it was very dangerous...” I said, Glimmer looked at me and frowned at my words. “Well Glimmer I think you don't understand this, but as Adora says, that's a superweapon, it's not something you can play with unless you want to kill us all. I thought you wanted nothing to do with things that could get out of your hands...” I was making fun of her and although no one besides Bow and Glimmer knew what I was talking about, for me it was more than enough. I was trying to make her see reason before she did something crazy that she would regret later.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sirius” she answered. I snorted and shook my head. “We’re running out of options, so… I say we get Light Hope to tell us how it works and take our power back” Well, it seems that she will not come to reason at any time soon.

“All she wants is to set the weapon off, are you evening listening to us?” Adora yelled at her and before it could go any further Bow stepped it.

“okaaay, five-minute break” I took a deep breath in relieve as Adora took a step back trying to calm herself. I ran a hand down the nape of my neck gently, feeling like if someone was watching me, I looked up and saw how Shadow Weaver was staring at me. I raised one of my eyebrows, why is she even looking at me? I frowned and turned my back on her, then slowly approached Adora. I gently patted her shoulder and walked to one of the corners of the room, I leaned against one of the walls, and looked at the holographic map. I sighed. I saw how Mermista approached where Adora was and began to repeat the moment when the world exploded into pieces several times.

I glanced around the room watching as Frosta leaned her face against both of her arms trying to keep her eyes open. Glimmer was at the other end of the table. I frowned and looked away as Bow approached her and held her hand. I closed my eyes trying to block out everything they were saying. I didn’t want to let something slip out of my mouth accidentally. I want to be with Double Trouble, although I must look like a complete disaster... they would make fun of me, but still they would make me feel better than I feel now.

A sudden slam called my attention and I looked at Frosta, “maybe we should continue this in the morning? Not… Not that I’m up pass my bedtime. I don’t have a bedtime; I can go to bed whenever I want” I laughed softly, seeing how she tried to deny outright that she had a bedtime, when she clearly had a bedtime, but damn, who am I to judge her? I’m freaking tired too.

“Or we can just decide right now” Mermista declared as she deactivated the hologram. I walked toward the table once again and placed myself beside Adora. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get my kingdom back. I say we use the magic” I frowned.

“I don’t think that’s the right way to get your kingdom back” I commented. Mermista looked at me and then looked at the table while clenching her fists. I can clearly see why Mermista wants to use the power, she is desperate, she wants to recover Salineas at all costs, but this is not the way to do it. Risking everyone is not the right way, Glimmer also needs to realize this.

“uhhh… it’s so dangerous, what if it goes off in the process? Oh… I don’t know” Perfuma said nervously, holding what appeared to be a flower in her hands. “Just come back to me. Use scary magical, don’t use scary magical” She began to pluck the petals from the flower trying to decide what to choose. I sighed.

“How come I still don’t have a chair even though the new person does?” Swift Wind asked. What the hell does Swift Wind need a chair for? I placed my hand on my forehead and sighed heavily, this day can't get worse...

“Oh no, I’m sitting on Emily” Seriously, sometimes I don't understand what Swift Wind is talking about, I like him, but sometimes he says nonsense.

“Swift Wind is this really the tiiiimeeeee…to…” Adora began to speak. Suddenly it was as if a bucket of cold water had fallen on me, I quickly removed my hand from my face and directed my gaze to where I had heard a somewhat familiar voice, but not so much. Sitting on what appeared to be a metal ball was Scorpia casually watching us.

“Hey everybody, how are you? Gosh, I’m so sorry for popping in unannounced. I didn’t wanna interrupt, you all seemed really busy, so I snuck pass the guards and was just… waiting for you guys to notice I was here” she calmly began to explain under our stunned gaze. How the hell haven't we noticed her before?!

“the hell…” I mumbled under my breath.

“Horde soldier!” screamed Frosta.

“For the honor of Grayskull!” screamed Adora and turned into She-Ra. We all placed ourselves in battle position, although I did not have my scythe in hand I could fight with my fists, I had not spent years of training for nothing.

Scorpia stood up and began taking a few steps back, “D-d-d… Hold on, Hold on, I don’t wanna fight you” Suddenly where she had been sitting seconds before moved, letting us see clearly that it was a robot. I frowned; this could get a lot harder than I thought.

“She’s got a bot!!” announced Perfuma from the top of her lungs.

Mermista ran towards Scorpia, “For Salineas!” She quickly created a wave that pushed Scorpia out of the room, Adora sprang into action and quickly went after her, followed by Frosta who jumped over her.

“You ruined Princess Prom!” screamed Frosta, her fist was quickly surrounded by ice thus forming an extremely large fist of ice. Scorpia quickly ran out before Frosta's fist hit her. Frosta froze the floor trying to stop Scorpia before she escaped at the same time that we all left the room. The ice soon caught up with the robot, who slipped and quickly collided with Scorpia causing them both to collide with the door opening it into the garden, we quickly followed them. The robot fell into the fountain while Scorpia kept running.

She stopped in the middle and turned to look at us, I quickly ran towards her and launched a kick at her, that she quickly dodged. Then pieces of ice, arrows and magic spheres also began to attack at the same time as I did, looking for the opportunity to knock her out, but I must admit that she’s really good at this, she dodged every single one of my blows. Without warning I felt something push me hard to one side, away from Scorpia. I got up quickly and directed my gaze towards the robot, which had pushed me and was now launching laser beams at Glimmer and Frosta. Adora quickly ran to the center and with her sword began to deflect the lasers as Scorpia hid behind the robot.

“Please, I don’t want to hurt you” I heard Scorpia say, I could see Perfume approaching from behind her with a smile on her face.

“I… I think she’s telling the true…” Scorpia stung her with her stinger and Perfuma fell to the ground. We all gasped in surprise.

Scorpia held her stinger and bent down, “Ahhhh… I’m so sorry, I did not mean to do that. It’s instinct” she said clearly nervous. I raised one of my eyebrows in confusion, what she said made sense. Maybe she really didn't want to hurt us like she was saying. Before I could say anything, Adora quickly ran towards Scorpia with her sword raised, ready to attack.

Scorpia covered her face with her pincers, “Please, I need your help to save Entrapta!” she said, and I gasped in surprise, Entrapta? Adora stopped in her tracks and lowered her sword as she heard the name of the girl with the big purple pigtails. I walked over to where Adora was and looked at Scorpia who had lowered her pincers and was looking at us with disbelieve. I just looked at her seriously.

“Did you say Entrapta?” I asked calmly. I heard footsteps behind me, and I could see how little by little everyone was getting closer to where we were to hear what Scorpia was going to say.

“Yes, please… Just let me explain you, I promise I’m not here to hurt you” She practically pleaded. I sighed and looked at Adora beside me, who also turned to look at me. After a brief agreement between us only with our eyes, we directed our gaze towards Glimmer who was walking towards us. Not wanting to stay close to Glimmer if possible, I walked to where Perfume was surrounded by the others, still lying on the ground, but at least in a more comfortable position.

I looked back at Scorpia, “I’m sorry, Quick question, how long is this going to last?” I asked her, Scorpia looked at me and laughed nervously.

“Not too long, don’t worry” She answered, I hummed and looked back at Perfuma, who was struggling to move one of her fingers that apparently only twitched. I scratched my neck gently and sighed heavily, now we will have to wait until the effect passes so that Perfuma can move completely. I looked up at the sky, why would Scorpia come here from all places? Didn't she have Catra to help her with whatever she needed? They are supposed to be friends, or not? Hell, what a hectic day and it's not over yet.

It took a few minutes before Perfuma was finally able to move completely and once she was able to move without difficulty, she quickly began tying her plants around the robot and then on Scorpia, who still seemed to be apologizing for having stung her. Once she finished tying Scorpia completely, she walked pass her and placed a flower on Scorpia’s back. I raised an eyebrow in confusion and directed my gaze towards Perfuma, who had a silly smile on her face. I smiled slightly, apparently someone had a crush.

“Alright Horde soldier” Glimmer and Shadow Weaver approached Scorpia. “Why are you here?” Glimmer asked. Glimmer then coughed after Scorpia did not answer and simply turned her head gently to look at Shadow Weaver, “Are you listening to me?

“Well… Yeah, but just… Shadow Weaver and at Bright Moon. Everything is making so much sense about why Catra is being acting the way she has, and now I left. Oh… that’s gonna do a real number on her” Scorpia started babbling about Catra, I frowned slightly and placed one of my hands on my hip.

“Hey, answer the question” Adora ordered her.

“Yeah, please, you’re making my head hurt” I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. Hell, now that I think about it, I think I've been sighing all day. If this continues like this, I’m going to sigh my life out.

“Right, Sorry” Scorpia answered. I opened my eyes and looked at her. “The thing is you all seem really good at friendship”

I coughed, “Oh, you have no idea…” I whispered. I have the best friends, who lied to me almost all my life, they judged me without me doing anything and they want me to return to a place where they will surely end up murdering me even for a sneeze. I deserve a medal… I looked at Bow and then Glimmer out of the corner of my eye, well one of them wanted to do all of the above. Glimmer looked back at me and I just looked away.

“You’re here to learn how to be a good friend?” Perfuma asked completely excited. I sighed and shook my head.

“Yes, that’s it. See, I thought I was being a good friend to Catra, but it turns out Catra wasn’t being a good friend to me, and also that I have no idea what friendship is… Men, I think Entrapta is the only real friend I’ve ever had” Scorpia began to speak nonstop again. I groaned completely annoyed, how is it possible that someone talks so much and also so damn fast? I was starting to get a headache. I need to sleep... The robot next to Scorpia began to make several noises and jump in the same position. I raised an eyebrow confused by the action of the robot. Was it also going to tell us something? “Oh, and Emily…” I blinked in confusion. Was that robot fussing just because Scorpia didn't say it was also her friend? Well, now I've seen it all.

Perfuma giggled and Mermista beside her groaned in annoyance. “Uuuughhh… say things that make sense” she said.

“Right, okay. Entrapta wanted to warn Hordak about the whole… you know… portal weirdness thing, so, Catra sent her to Beast Island and I… I let it happen” Scorpia closed her eyes and lowered her face slightly in regret. She looked back up clearly determined, “now, I have to save her” she declared.

Adora gasped beside me and I looked at her, she looked totally horrified. “Beast Island? With the blood beetles and the threes with razor-sharp blades instead of leaves? That’s real?” She held her head with both hands while looking at the sky. I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“What the hell is that?” I asked her. She looked at me and then held my shoulders with both of her hands. She looked at me with that same horrified expression, slightly uncomfortable by that look on her face I tried to take a step back, but she wouldn’t let me get away from her.

“That’s just the most horrifying place in the whole universe. I-I-I can’t believe it’s real… Is it really real?” She asked once again nervously. I took her arms and gently released myself. I took several steps away from her and sighed with relief, blessed personal space...

“Oh yes, but it’s much worse than that. We told you those children stories so you wouldn’t be scared” Shadow Weaver answered.

“You told them stories about a creepy island so they wouldn’t be scared?” I asked incredulously, how the hell do you expect some children not to panic if you tell them about islands that have things like blood beetles and threes with razor-sharp blades instead of leaves. “Well I didn’t expect anything better coming from you” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked back at Scorpia.

“It’s worst?! Oh, what’ve I done?” Scorpia said completely regretful of her actions.

Adora sighed, “We can’t leave her there”

“If we wanna safely disable the weapon, Entrapta is our best bet. She’d know more about that than anyone” Adora and I looked back at Bow as he explained.

I nodded in agreement, “Your right, we need Entrapta’s help so we can disable the weapon before it is too late. She is the best when it comes to technology” I said calmly.

“Wait…” I heard Glimmer speak.

Adora interrupted her. “We have to get to Beast Island right away, save Entrapta and shut down the Heart of Etheria for good”

“Hold on” I heard Glimmer voice again, but I took a step forward.

“This is our only chance, we got to do this now before it is too late, we don’t have time to waste” I said with determination. Although I don't think it is right for me to go to Beast Island... I must stay here in order to solve my problems with Castaspella as soon as possible. If only Castaspella wasn't on top of me just because of the stupid seal I would be able to go with them, but I can't... It would make things more difficult than they already are.

“I’m in” said Swift Wind.

“No, you’re not… What?” I heard Glimmer ask.

“Me too, obviously. I mean, I brought this to you” Scorpia said.

Adora looked at Scorpia “Great, then it’s decided, we’re going…”

Glimmer interrupted Adora, “Will everyone just stop for one second” Glimmer yelled and then walked toward Scorpia. She pointed at Scorpia with her finger, “You aren’t going anywhere. You’re our prisoner” Then Glimmer walked towards us, “and you, we need to talk about this… now!” I looked at her partially surprised by her sudden outburst. She held the three of us and then we disappeared, “Stop it!” she exclaimed as soon as we appeared in one of the palace’s room. “Stop just trying to barrel ahead with your own plans. We have to talk about this” She tried to reason with us, I frowned somewhat annoyed.

“What’s there to talk about? Entrapta needs our help and we need Entrapta” Adora replied.

“Adora” she exclaimed while putting her hands on her face for just a couple of seconds. “Have you ever heard of anyone coming back from Beast Island? Do you even know where it is?” Glimmer asked.

“No, but we have to try” Adora replied.

“Oh, great plan. The horde is on our doorstep and we’ll just drop everything to run off on a harebrained rescue mission” Glimmer said as she turned around and walked a few steps away from us and then turned around to look back at us.

I took a step forward with a frown plastered on my face, “Then what’s your plan? Leave Entrapta alone on that horrid place?” I asked her completely irritated, how was she able to say these things? Entrapta needed our help, we couldn't just leave her alone.

“Glimmer, you do wanna save Entrapta, right? Bow asked.

“Of course, I do. We’ll save her, but we need to stop the Horde first. I won’t risk the whole alliance for one princess, who betrayed us” she declared.

“She’s still our friend! Do you even know the meaning of that word, Glimmer?” I clenched my fists tightly while looking straight at her, her eyes locked on mine full of anger, but I couldn't care less.

“There’s an unstable mass of magic in the middle of the planet. Everyone is at risk unless we can get Entrapta to shut it down” Bow stepped forward as he spoke, trying to get Glimmer to reason.

“Glimmer, you have to understand, damn it, if we don't rescue Entrapta then the planet will be destroyed and with it, all of us” I felt Bow place his hand on my shoulder supporting me without saying a word.

“Entrapta has a habit of exploding everything she touches, you really wanna let her near this thing? Just go to Light Hope and ask her” I looked down at the floor, I can’t really discuss with that statement, but that doesn’t change the fact that Entrapta is the best in technology. I know she can find a way to disable this thing. Going to Light Hope is not an option. “If we can get some of that stored power back, we could use it to defeat the Horde and save Entrapta” I sighed heavily.

“What? No” Adora started walking towards where Glimmer was and stopped walking right in front of her, “I told you we can’t trust her, she betrayed Mara. She lied to me. She’s the bad guy” Adora exclaimed.

“The Horde are the bad guys and you don’t have to tell her everything, just find out how it works and how to access it” Glimmer said. I sighed with resignation upon hearing Glimmer's words. It seems that there is no chance to change what she thinks is right. It is more than clear that she will not listen to any reason we give her.

“And if it goes wrong? People could get hurt” Adora responded.

I took a step closer, “Glimmer, you can’t risk everyone’s lives just because you think you might be able to control that power. Adora is right. If everything goes wrong, everyone could get hurt. You have to listen to us”

Glimmer looked at me, frowned, then directed her gaze at Bow, “Bow” she ran towards him and held his hand, “You understand what I’m trying to say, tell them!”

“No! You weren’t there, we need Entrapta, we need to disable the weapon” Bow responded.

“Why can’t you trust me in this?” Glimmer asked.

“Because you’re wrong!” Bow yelled as he pulled his hand out of Glimmer's grasp. Glimmer took several steps back until she was far enough from us.

“You think I’m wrong? Fine…” she said… I softened my gaze and looked at her slightly concerned. I couldn't help but feel this way. I've known her since she was a little girl and I can't help worrying about her even a little... Deep inside me, even after all… Glimmer still worries me. “But I’m still queen and as queen, I’m ordering you. No one is going to Beast Island. You’re not to set foot outside the castle unless I say so. End of discussion” she walked away. I closed my eyes and sighed heavily; this is going to end really bad.

I heard the room door slam shut and sighed heavily. I walked to one of the chairs and dropped onto it, completely exhausted, the events of this day had left me totally exhausted, I really needed to take a breath. I looked up at Adora and Bow, who were looking at each other with an expression of total determination.

“So?” I asked casually.

“We can’t follow Glimmer's orders, we gotta save Entrapta, we can’t waste more time than we already have” Adora said. “So, this is what we’re gonna do. We are gonna get to Mara’s ship and fly it to Beast Island, get Entrapta back and disable that stupid weapon” She started pacing the room as she discussed her plan.

“Yeah… That’s a Good idea, but what about Glimmer…?” Bow asked with a worried expression, his gazes following Adora around the room.

Adora stopped dead in track and looked at Bow, “We can’t count on her Bow, you heard what she said”

I sighed once again. “Adora is right, Glimmer is not thinking clearly right now, she keeps thinking about using the power to defeat the Horde. She is not seeing what really matters, and if Entrapta is not rescued now, who knows what could happen?” I said.

“I know… but she’s still our friend… I mean… I guess I should leave her a note at least” Bow said nervously, he quickly approached one of the desks and started writing on a piece of paper.

“Bow, I don’t think a note would make her less angry when she finds out you went to save Entrapta” I said. Bow looked at me nervously and then began writing another note.

“I know, but we can’t leave her like that, we at least gotta explain her” he responded once again.

“Wait… what did you said, Sirius?” I looked at Adora as she walked towards me.

I smiled softly “What are you waiting for? It’s almost dawn” I said. They both looked at me in confusion. “You need to go and save Entrapta before something wrong happens. This is your chance, while everyone is still asleep, and Glimmer is distracted” I said.

Adora took a couple steps towards me. “What? Are you not going with us?” she asked.

“I’m sorry Adora… I’m not. There are things here I need to take care of” I whispered softly. She looked at me slightly worried and I smiled at her reassuringly. “I know you can do it without me… The two of you” I looked at Bow. He softly smiled at me.

“But… Sirius… Is everything okay?” Adora asked visibly concerned.

“I promise you I’m okay or at least I will be, but you two really need to go and please, be safe. Both of you” I looked at them both and smiled softly. They smiled at me and nodded. Soon the two of them set off, Adora found what appeared to be ropes in a drawer and quickly after tying the ropes tightly around a pillar the two left the room through the open windows. They both smiled at me and then began to descend.

I closed my eyes for a second and then left the room, I had to speak to Double Trouble. After such a busy day, spending some time with them could be the best. I walked briskly through the empty hallways of the castle to the room where they kept Double Trouble, but such was my surprise to see Glimmer enter the room. I frowned and bit my lip. I looked around and let out a heavy sigh. What was Glimmer talking about with Double Trouble? I must enter the room without being seen.

I got a little closer, noticing that Glimmer left the door wide open, I smiled. It seems that luck is finally smiling at me. Quickly enter the room. Double Trouble glanced at me for a few seconds while still smirking at Glimmer with their arms crossed over their chest. I hid behind one of the pillars and poked my head out slightly to see what was happening.

“Tell me everything” Glimmer demanded.

“Double Trouble raised an eyebrow, “I…” they began speaking “I…” they took a couple of steps back looking slightly worried and confused. I frowned. What the hell is going on with them? “I can’t cry on cue! Whenever a role calls for tears the only thing that works is thinking about children falling. They’re tears of laughter, but no one can tell the difference” I looked at them with surprise, I thought it was one of their biggest secrets... Why had they told Glimmer? “I’ve only told that to one person before…” they said visibly confused. I blinked and ran a hand through my hair. A damn truth spell.

“Tell me the Horde’s plans” she ordered.

“Oh? Is that all?” they sat down and crossed one of their legs over the other. “Why didn’t you say so? Catra and Hordak are worked up because Horde Prime is on his way with his armada to conquer all of Etheria” Double Trouble said. I frowned, no…

“When?” Glimmer asked clearly alarmed at the recent information.

“Any day now, darling. I’d say its curtains for your little rebellion here, but hey, while this truth spell is still working, here’s one more for you. If you’re already losing to Hordak, you poor lambs don’t stand a chance against Horde Prime” they said.

“No…” Glimmer whispered as she took a couple of steps back and disappeared.

I came out from behind the pillar and looked at them, “Is it true…?” I asked in disbelieve.

“Of course, it is, my star. This truth spell got me to say something I was hoping we could keep between us” They got up again. I walked up to them, my eyes never leaving theirs.

I shook my head slightly, “Damn it… this is just getting worst…” I let my gaze fall to the ground feeling a strange tightness in my chest, “Now Glimmer has even more reason to think that weapon is the best solution. I have to find a way to stop her. Even if she won’t listen to me” I said with determination looking up at them.

“What are you going to do? And what’s this weapon you’re talking about?” they asked. I looked at them and shook my head softly. I have no time to waste.

“I will explain later, okay? I have to stop her. I promise you I’ll come back and explain everything to you” I said hastily as they looked at me in surprise, but before they could say anything about it, I ran out of the room. I must find her before she goes with Light Hope, I must stop her before it’s too late.

I ran through all the corridors looking for Glimmer without finding her anywhere. I cursed internally and ran towards the castle exit praying that she would still be near the castle, if I didn't stop her now it would be too late… Once I reached the door, I saw Shadow Weaver standing right in front of it. I frowned and stepped forward.

“Where’s Glimmer?” I asked her.

“She went to do some business” She waved her hand dismissingly. I clenched my teeth. “I’ m rather surprised that you didn’t go with Adora” she said. She was just trying to buy time. I tried to walk towards the door, but she got in my way.

“What do you think you’re doing? I have to stop Glimmer before she makes a big mistake” I said.

“Your majesty is going to be perfectly fine; shouldn’t you be more concerned about yourself, nightcrawler?” She said. I frowned and took a step back, surprised by her accusation.

“How do you know about that…?” I asked in disbelieve.

She laughed softly, “Oh please, that aura around you is just like theirs... It is impossible not to notice. The magic that overflows from your body is quite overwhelming too and isn't there something more important that you should be doing right now...? Like... discovering your ancestors’ history.

“I already know my past, and who my relatives were. You’re just trying to stop me from getting Glimmer” I replied completely annoyed.

“Do you now?” she asked.

“Yes! Castaspella told me everything about the Nightcrawlers, now get out of my way!” I yelled at her.

“And you believe her?” she asked once again. I swallowed and stayed in complete silence. “You do good in not trusting her completely. There might be something that can help you know the truth, but since you really seem to want to get to Glimmer, I would let you go” she said and started walking away from the door. I clenched my jaw and looked down at my feet. What should I do...? Glimmer might already be there and there is nothing I can do to stop her, even if I stop her... she will never listen to me. I let out a sigh and looked at Shadow Weaver.

“How do I know you’re not lying?” I asked in a whisper.

“I guess you will have to take the risk” she answered.

I can't believe I’m going to do this, “Tell me more…” I whispered with resignation, she turned around and looked at me.

“Come with me” she said. The two of us began to walk through the silent corridors of the palace in complete silence. I don't know if what I was doing was right, but... maybe Shadow Weaver can tell me something more about my relatives. I can't pass up this opportunity. If I had gone after Glimmer it would have been a waste of time. She would have never listened to me...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed today's chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is real?

I gently held the petal of a red rose between my fingers. “Gardening? Of all the things you could have chosen, this is the one?” I looked back at Shadow Weaver, who was walking from side to side with a pruning shear in her hands. She stopped in front of what appeared to be tulips and turned to look at me.

“As I once told Queen Glimmer, one must keep oneself occupied” she answered. I got up from where I was crouched and approached her.

“Yes, but now is not the time to be grooming your garden, you were supposed to tell me about my relatives” I said. She hummed in response and set the pruning shears aside. “unless you were lying to me and only said does things to distract me from getting Glimmer”

“you could have chosen to ignore me, but you didn't...” she walked toward the roses and I sighed.

“This is a waste of time; I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you…” I mumbled under my breath. I looked down resigned and sighed heavily. I looked up and without wasting any more time I headed towards the exit of the nursery. Maybe I can still stop Glimmer if I go now. I may still have a chance to make her see reason.

“You are too impatient…” she commented. I stopped dead in tracks and looked back at her. “What did Castaspella told you about the Nightcrawlers?” she asked while holding the same rose that I had been holding moments before.

“Well… she told me a Nightcrawler killed 20 students back in Mystacor just for fun, she also told me they were they were selfish, arrogant and egocentric, etc, etc” I waved my hand in the air as I spoke.

Shadow Weaver looked back at me with what seemed to be a frown adorning her mask, to this day I still do not know how that mask can be so expressive and at the same time not be, “they were far from arrogant or selfish, yet the sorcerers in Mystacor... they were the ones who caused the nightcrawlers to isolate themselves, just because they were scared of their power…” she said. I frowned in confusion.

“What does that mean…?” I took a couple of steps forward towards her.

She walked towards me and placed one of her hands on my shoulder, “I had the opportunity to see them as they really were and not as they were under the judging eyes of the sorcerers, they were free spirits... I cannot tell you exactly what happened that day, but I wouldn't blame the Nightcrawler if that's what actually happened…” I raised an eyebrow at her words, does that mean that she had managed to establish a relationship with some Nightcrawler?

“I know if I told you something, you wouldn’t believe me, but there’s a way for you to know the truth about what really happened. That is… if you’re willing to know” I looked down at my feet... Was I seriously going to let myself be carried away by her words, maybe she was lying. Castaspella wouldn't lie about this, would she? I mean, she looked very serious when she told me all... but what if she doesn't really know the truth...? What if the Nightcrawlers weren’t murderers like everyone thought? If I can find out the truth, I can cleanse the honor of my relatives and then they will have to remove the seal! That is... if my relatives were not murderers at all. 

I looked at Shadow Weaver “I’m in, tell me how to find out the truth” she took her hand of my shoulder and walked toward the small fountain in the middle of the garden. I followed her at a slow pace and stood beside of her, looking down at the crystal-clear water that lay inside the fountain, calm and undisturbed.

“When the sorcerers first met the Nightcrawlers, the nightcrawlers treated them with hospitality. They showed them their home, their customs, and their abilities. Fascinated by the nature of the Nightcrawlers, the sorcerers wanted to know how they were able to perform magic without runes and that this magic was not dark” Shadow Weaver began to speak as she tossed the rose petals into the water. “The nightcrawlers tried to explain to them that their powers saw beyond something like a rune or dark magic, and to prove it they showed the sorcerers a book: _The eye of the Umbra,_ if I recall correctly” she explained. I frowned at the name. What kind of name is that?

“Umbra? Isn’t that like… ummmm… Shadows?” I asked curiously. Shadow Weaver threw a kind of light blue powder into the water, causing the water to turn purple.

She looked at me, “indeed” she said. “The sorcerers thought that perhaps that book was the source of their power and they tried to ask for the book to analyze it. Obviously, they didn't get it, and instead the Nightcrawlers agreed that they would both learn from each other, that's how the Nightcrawlers started studying at Mystacor as well” I looked at Shadow Weaver.

“Yeah… I don’t see how knowing this is going to help me know the truth” I said.

“The book may hold that knowledge you seek for” she explained. I blushed slightly embarrassed and scratched my neck gently.

I laughed nervously as I returned my gaze back to the purple water. “And how do I find that book?”

“The book like your relatives disappeared without a trace” I looked at her with a frown, but before I could say anything about it, she simply raised one of her hands and silenced me. “That day the Nightcrawlers fell I sent the soldiers in search of the book to Diamond Cave, but they returned empty-handed. I thought that the book had been destroyed or at least that's what I thought until I saw you for the first time, there might be a possibility that Castaspella brought not only you, but also the book” I looked at her slightly confused.

“What? Castaspella didn’t told me about any book” I commented. Shadow Weaver placed his hand inches across the water, and it began to move smoothly creating little ripples.

“It is more than obvious why she didn’t, but I am sure that she could never have gotten rid of the book, knowing the great knowledge it harbored” She walked toward the snapdragons and cut one of the flowers, walked back to where I was and dropped it into the water.

“So, what you’re trying to say is that the book is in Mystacor?” I asked. The water began to glow softly, and I looked at it. “Umm… what are you doing exactly?”

“Tracking spell” she explained. “The book may not be in Mystacor at all, those old-fashioned sorcerers want nothing to do with the Nightcrawlers, so they made everyone think that the Nightcrawlers were nothing but a legend” I hummed in response.

“So, you’re saying that the book might be here? In Bright Moon?” Suddenly a small thread shot out of the water to the exit.

“Precisely” she answered. I watched her for a few seconds until she motioned for me to follow the little thread. I raised a slightly reluctant eyebrow and let out a sigh. What the hell have I gotten myself into? Well, if this magic thread was going to take me to where the aforementioned book was... I think it would be better to hurry.

We both left at a slow pace and started walking towards the castle, while we walked in silence through the corridors of the castle I could not avoid directing my gaze at the small luminous thread beside me, almost imperceptible to the sight of many if it were not because the thread itself glowed softly. We walked for a while until the thread came to an abrupt stop at King Micah's mural. I frowned and walked over to the mural. I turned around and looked at Shadow Weaver, who was also curiously admiring the King's mural.

“I think your little spell didn’t work” I commented with slight annoyance, she stayed silent and approached the mural, running her hand over it gently. I sighed heavily and leaned against a nearby wall. I looked at the ground with discomfort. Seriously? So much for nothing? Surely that book didn't even exist, and Shadow Weaver was just messing with me. This was all a waste of time; I knew it was a bad idea to go along with Shadow Weaver... I groaned, closed my eyes, and moved my head back hitting it lightly against the wall.

“Do you know how to use your powers?” I opened my eyes and looked back at her.

I shook my head softly, “No, they placed a seal on me, but I seem to have somehow weaken it, but I cannot use them at will, it is very difficult for me to do so. The only thing I can do is… well, I haven’t tried it yet, I've only used a revelation rune once” she hummed in response.

“What type of seal? Would you mind if I take a look at it?” she asked.

I shrugged and she stepped closer to me. I took a couple of steps forward toward her and turned around, pulled down the collar of my shirt, exposing the bandages that adorned my neck. I started to remove gently the bandages and once the bandages were completely removed, she placed her hand on my shoulder and I looked at the floor, waiting for her to say nothing about the wounds that adorned my neck.

“The Magic Eater…” she said. I walked away from her and turned around to look at her. “But you’re right, your magic is quite impressive if it managed to weaken the seal, I’m impressed” I looked down at the ground and began to bandage my neck again quickly under her watchful eye.

“Why did you asked if I knew how to use my powers?” I asked curiously. I finished tying the bandage around my neck and adjusted the collar of my shirt, so that it covered the bandages again. I looked up at her and placed one of my hands on my hip.

“Because your magic is the only thing capable of opening the secret passage behind the mural. The spell placed on this mural is very strong and I very much doubt that I can remove that spell, but you... you can do it” she said. I raised an eyebrow and looked at the mural.

“What secret passage are you talking about? This is just a mural” I said.

“That it is, but it also hides a secret passage” she explained. She walked back to the mural and I followed her. We stopped in front of the mural and I just turned to look at her.

“What is it that you expect me to do? I don’t know how to use my nightcrawlers abilities, Castaspella only taught me runes… Well, a couple of them. All my knowledge about sorcery comes from books” I said, she just turned around to look at me and I looked away somewhat embarrassed.

“Your magic doesn’t come from a rune, you just gotta feel your magic. Visualize what you want to do, and it would be done” I looked at her in slight disbelieve. I bit my lip slightly nervous and looked back at the mural. I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes.

Feel my magic… How the hell do I feel my magic? Okay… I will not be able to do anything if I get nervous, I have to calm down. Visualize... Feel your magic... I released all the air retained in my lungs gently, placed my hand on the mural and suddenly it was as if my fingers were tickling. It felt strange, it was like a gentle electric current that ran through my entire hand to my chest. I had never felt this way... This felt good... it felt right. I pressed my hand against the mural a little harder and suddenly I felt a throbbing pain go through the nape of my neck. I quickly took my hand away from the mural and placed my hand on the nape of my neck.

I panted and looked at the mural, it was exactly the same, I looked at Shadow Weaver still panting, but she didn't even look at me. She remained with her gaze fixed on the mural, “Then? It didn’t work and the only thing I got was a massive headache, this is definitely a waste of…” she raised one of her hands in front of me, silencing me automatically.

I frowned in irritation and opened my mouth to say something but was completely silenced when the mural began to open, leaving a completely dark passageway in the middle. I let my hand drop gently to my side once the pain that went through my neck had dissipated, I think because of the amazement of what was happening in front of me. Once the passageway was fully open, what appeared to be shadows hastily approached me and stopped below me, creating my own shape.

“What the…?” I asked in surprise. I looked up at where Shadow Weaver was supposed to have been to ask her if she knew something about what just happened with this shadows, but such was my surprise at not finding her there, I looked around frantically until I finally spotted her walking into that completely dark passageway. I followed quickly and once inside the passageway, it closed again, leaving us in complete darkness with just the little shiny thread to guide us. I looked around in amazement trying to make out something with my gaze without any success, the light from the little thread was not bright enough to illuminate the entire passage.

“Come on… it’s this way” I heard Shadow Weaver say, I followed her at a slow pace, very careful not to trip over anything. I looked at the little thread of light next to me, where would this little thread take us...? I looked up at where Shadow Weaver was presumed to be a few meters from me, thanks to the small light that emanated from the thread, the only thing I could see was a silhouette, and that with a lot of effort. I frowned slightly as I felt a slight burning feeling on the nape of my neck and I placed my hand on it, remembering what had happened seconds before with the shadows. I pulled my hand away from the back of my neck and quickened my pace until I was next to Shadow Weaver.

“Something happened back there when the mural… opened…” I whispered beside her. “I don’t know why, but these shadows came out of the passageway and then gathered around me to form my own shadow, do you have any idea of how that happened?” I asked curiously. Although I really don't know what I expected as an answer, but besides Castaspella, she was the only one who seemed to know something about the Nightcrawlers and although I really didn't want to have to do this with Shadow Weaver, I can't do it with Castaspella, she would have already locked me without second thought.

“Umm, yes... you had your eyes closed so I suppose you didn't see it, your own shadow separated from your body and those shadows that returned to you were your shadow... In a few words” she explained. I looked at her in disbelieve.

I laughed reluctantly, “I didn’t know you could actually joke… it wasn’t funny thought” I mumbled under my breath. Shadow Weaver remained silent and I looked at her, what the... she wasn't kidding… I stopped dead in my tracks, but how the hell? It is not possible for your shadow to separate from your body! That doesn't make any damn sense! No, I'm going crazy! No, I think I’m already crazy!

“We’re almost there hurry up” Shadow Weaver hurried me, I got out of my reverie and started to walk behind her again. Too many things are happening at the same time and I don't know how to deal with this... I think I should first focus on what is most important and that is finding the book.

“How… do you even know we are almost there?” I asked.

“The thread is fading away” she said. I looked down at the thread and as she just said, it was clearly fading away. We walked for a little more until the thread gradually disappeared completely leaving us in total darkness, where the only thing we could hear were our soft breaths. I moved my head from side to side trying to make out something in all that gloom, but there was nothing…

Suddenly the room was fully lit, I closed my eyes because of the sudden light. I groaned softly and a couple of seconds later, I slowly opened my eyes. It was a completely white room, with golden pillars leading to the center of the room, where there was a small staircase, with like three steps that led to a pedestal, and on that pedestal was a book. I looked at it in amazement. I can't believe it... The book… it was real, Shadow Weaver hadn't lied to me about its existence. At last I can know the full truth, I smiled hopefully and ran to the pedestal past Shadow Weaver, who hadn't moved an inch from her place since the room had been lit.

Once in front of the book, I ran my hand over it gently, it was a completely silver book where in the middle of the cover it seemed to have a small diamond-shaped slot. I frowned somewhat curiously and stroked the slot gently. Maybe this was just a decoration from the book. I smiled confidently, I could finally know the truth and maybe that way I could tell the others that the Nightcrawlers are not monsters as everyone believes, everything could return to normal. Bow, Glimmer, and I will be friends again. Castaspella will stop trying to seal my powers and no one will be afraid of me. Everything would be perfect.

I opened the book... and my world fell apart. The pages were blank. The happy and hopeful expression that had adorned my face a few seconds ago turned into a panicked expression. I flipped through the pages trying to find at least one page that said something. I stopped short when I reached the end. I let my hands drop to both sides of my body and clench my fists helplessly. I bit my lip hard; it can't be... why every time I think I'm going to get answers, everything always results in bad news!? I felt my fists shake slightly... Think Sirius... maybe the book has a spell, like the other one, maybe the words are hidden. I relaxed a little and took a deep breath.

I closed my eyes and released the air that was retained in my lungs. My body relaxed completely, and I opened my eyes already calmer. I still remember the rune I used last time... But... Nightcrawlers don't use runes, well… I don't even know what Nightcrawlers do, so I think it’s better to use a method I already know, although Shadow Weaver has already explained to me more or less how it was that Nightcrawlers did magic, I still don't know if it's a good idea to do it. I don't want to feel the same pain I did a while ago. At least when I used the runes, I only got dizzy.

I created the same rune with my hand and gently ran my hand through the pages of the book, I took my hand away once finished and the rune disappeared. I stared at those pages, hoping that at some point words would start to appear on the pages, but after a few minutes had passed I realized that those words would never appear. I turned around quickly to look Shadow Weaver, who was watching me from a distance, it seems that she still hadn't moved from where she had been when we got to the room.

“The book is blank... Maybe the words are hidden, but the rune I used didn’t work and I do not plan to reuse my Nightcrawler powers. Tell me you have any idea what we can do about it” I said hastily. Shadow Weaver walked to where I was and climbed the small steps until she was next to me in front of the pedestal. She placed one of her hands on one of the pages of the book and caressed it with the same softness with which I had done it seconds before.

“There’s nothing I can do… As you said, the book is blank, its words are not hidden, how unexpected...” She placed her hand on her chin and hummed.

“Why the hell would there be a blank book!?” I asked in a scream. She just ignored me, and I just ran my hand through my hair, stressed.

“Now what am I going to do?! The book has nothing! I wasted my time on you! I will never be able to know the truth and now that I wasted my time on you instead of going after Glimmer, who surely is now making the worst decision of her life, I can't help but think how selfish I am! I should have thought of my friends first of all, instead of trusting you!” I yelled at her, I groaned and quickly walked back the same way we had come. Behind me I could hear Shadow Weaver's soft footsteps, but I couldn’t care less about her right now. What a damn waste of time! Once we reached the end of the road, the mural opened again and let us out. Once the two of us were outside, the mural closed behind us and without waiting for Shadow Weaver to say something to me, I quickly left the place.

Once far enough away, I stopped dead on my track and clenched my fists tightly. I felt so helpless. I closed my eyes tight and with all the strength I had, I punched the hallway wall. Little by little after keeping my hand pressed against the wall, I gradually leaned against it.

“Damn it!” I screamed, I took a breath and sighed. “Damn it... I need... I need to sleep...” I can't believe I yelled at Shadow Weaver like that, I mean... I shouldn't have reacted like that... Maybe she didn't know anything about the book itself, she just knew about its existence... I’m such a fool… I stepped away from the wall and gently ran a hand over my face. I dropped my hand to my side and made my way to my room in silence. I couldn't help but feel bad about what had happened minutes ago. And now I can't help but think that maybe what Castaspella says is true... I'm selfish... If any of the others had been in my situation, they would surely have gone after Glimmer, but I only thought of myself. And now there is nothing I could do to stop Glimmer...

I dropped onto my bed once I finally got to my room and turned to lie on my back, my gaze fixed on the ceiling of the room. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten carried away by Shadow Weaver's words... But I just couldn't help it, just thinking that maybe everything could go back to normal if I found something in that book that said the opposite of what Castaspella told me and what everyone believed... It made me happy to think that everything could be the same as before, that I won’t be looked at as a monster by those who I once called my family. I sighed; but the book is blank... so I can't know what is true and what is not.

I closed my eyes completely exhausted, letting my body, mind and heart get carried away by that false feeling of tranquility, If I wasn't so tired I wouldn’t be able to relax with the great torrent of thoughts that plagued my head, but in these moments the tiredness is much bigger, and little by little I find myself drifting away slowly until finally everything is nothing but calm and darkness.

After what seems like hours, I open my eyes again, only to be greeted by complete darkness. I sat up suddenly and looked around frantically; where I am? how did I get here? I scramble to my feet and wobble slightly. I looked everywhere trying to make out something with my eyes, but there was nothing, just complete and endless darkness.

“Hello?” my voice echoed through the deep darkness. I took a step back... how the hell had I gotten here? I don’t remember moving since I got to my room... the last thing I remember... is that... I fell asleep... I shook my head in realization; Is this a dream? Suddenly as if by magic the place was illuminated with a brilliant white light, I covered my eyes with my hand, slightly squinting at the sudden appearance of light. Once I got used to the light in the room, I took my hand away from my eyes and blinked a few times, trying to adjust my view to the lighting in the room.

I felt my breath catch on my throat. I was in the same room I had been with Shadow Weaver before; everything was exactly the same... except that this time there was dark mass with a humanoid shape standing in front of the book. The dark mass had one of its hands, with incredibly large claws, placed on the book. No, this can't be real... this is a dream, a few seconds ago I was in my room... This is definitely a dream. None of this is real. That mass is not real, I’m just imagining weird things…

“Oh… I assure you I’m completely real…” A voice that sounded more like a growl reached my ears, I felt a chill run down my back, and I placed my hand on my back trying to reach my scythe without any success. Fu... I frowned and stepped forward, determined not to show any signs of weakness to the creature a few yards from me.

“What or Who the hell are you?” I asked with complete seriousness. The mass started to laugh, it was a somewhat macabre laugh, which only caused me more chills than I already had. It turned around and I could see its face, it seemed to have slightly pointed ears, a completely sharp-toothed smile and bright turquoise eyes with black sclera.

I gasped in realization… “Who am I? You already know who I am…” The thing walked down the steps and walked slowly towards me, I remained completely static, watching as the black mass slowly approached me walking gracefully.

“You… you’re one of them…” the black mass laughed again at my words. Once it was next to me, it placed one of its hands on my shoulder and surrounded me as if I were a prey.

“Them…? You mean us” it responded. I tried to pull away a little as I felt its voice so close to my ear.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not like any of you” I answered. The dark mass hummed in response.

“Not yet… but soon… There is still something that gets in my way to reach you fully, but I know that very soon you and I... will be one, just as it always should have been from the very beginning” The dark mass released me and surrounded me completely, then coming face to face with me.

“No, I won’t turn into a monster” I said with determination, the dark mass looked a little taken- back at my words.

“Monsters? I think you have the wrong idea; we are not monsters” it said. I frowned a little.

“Do you know something about it...?” I asked tentatively.

“I only know what you know. After all, I am your shadow, I cannot know more than what you know, but what I do know is that what Castaspella said is not entirely true. I can feel it inside my whole being.” I raised an eyebrow at its words.

“I’m sorry, what? My shadow?” I asked. The shadow looked at me and took a couple of steps back while placing one of its hands on its hips. Damn it, that definitely looked like me.

“Yes, I’m your shadow. Took you long enough to catch up” It sighed.

“No, that can’t be… Shadows can’t speak! This is a dream Sirius…” I reminded myself.

“Normally I shouldn't be able to speak, but since they practically separated me from you, it is as if they created another you, in short I am your Nightcrawler part” I looked at my Shadow as it spoke. “For all these years there was always something pulling me away from you trying to consume me day by day, but suddenly it was as if that weight had been lifted off me and at the end I was a bit free, but obviously without being able to reach you completely” I unconsciously placed on of my hands on the nape of my neck and directed my gaze to the ground thoughtfully. Maybe my shadow it’s talking about what happened in Dryl, when I debilitated the seal... it makes perfect sense. “But I know that soon enough, we will be finally able to become one” I snapped my head instantly at my shadow.

“No” I said. My shadow frowned and looked at me in complete disbelieve at my sudden answer.

“What the hell do you mean by that? Don’t you want us to become one again? Don’t you want to feel complete?” my shadow took a couple of steps closer until it was in front of me. It placed both of its hands on my shoulders and looked straight at my eyes.

“No” I took a step back making its hands fall from my shoulders. “I told you already I don’t want to turn into a monster like you” The shadow frowned ad clenched its jaw.

“You’re making a huge mistake…” My shadow mumbled.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to risk it… I want to be free yes, but I don’t want to put the others in danger, I want to be sure I won’t cause them any harm” I said honestly, my shadow looked at me closely and after a while it let out a heavy sigh. My shadow directed its gaze at me for a few seconds and then it looked away without saying absolutely nothing.

“You can’t stop it… Soon, it’ll happen, this is who you are, you have to accept it” My shadow said. I frowned and took a step closer towards it.

I clenched my fists tightly as I looked at my shadow, its words infuriated me, but it was because I knew it was right, I am a Nightcrawler and I cannot escape what I am. The seal on my neck is the one who keeps my Nightcrawler part at bay, if at any time I manage to figure out how to break the seal, I am somewhat afraid of what could happen... But I really want to be free... There’s only one thing to do…

“I’ll find out the truth and then we will be one, even if what Castaspella said was true” I placed my hand on my chest right where my heart lay and looked at him with determination. “I promise…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody!
> 
> I have to tell you something very important, I'm thinking of making one single great episode involving Destiny Part 1 and 2, so maybe next week's episode won't come out on Friday, but I'll try to have it ready by Friday. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's episode! ^^


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Destiny Part 1 and 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry!!!! I tried! I really did.  
> The thing is that I had an exam on Friday and I still hadn't finished the chapter, so I had to wait to finish the chapter, but don't worry, here is the chapter! Late... But here it is!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it, Comments and Kudos are really aprecciated! Love you!!

“What you're trying to tell me is that you spoke to your... ummmm…shadow?... After you went with that creepy witch for a supposed book that belonged to your family instead of going after Sparkles to stop her from accomplishing some suicide plan” Double Trouble said with one hand on their hip while they waved the other gently in the air recapitulating everything I had told them since I got here. And the thing is that when I woke up the first thing I did was come here, I had no one else to tell these things to, I could only speak to Double Trouble.

“Yeah… that’s basically it” I replied

“Honey, you really have to find out what your priorities are…” they placed their other hand on their hip and looked at me accusingly.

I scratched the back of my neck and sighed heavily. “I know… I’m a mess, I mean… I should have known better; I should have gone after Glimmer. That was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?”

They shook their head as they now placed one of their hands on their chest. “Oh, no, no, no, darling. The right thing to do is always follow what you truly want” They sat down on the couch and crossed one leg over the other one, “Did you really wanted to go after Sparkles?” They began checking their nails as they asked me.

“I mean… yes, but…” I groaned, why does everything have to be so damn complicated every time? I began wandering across the room, “but, I know that she wouldn’t have listened to me, and the book… well, I couldn’t lose that chance” I explained.

“See? I‘m sure that whatever Sparkles have in mind couldn’t be that bad, I suppose…” I stopped dead in my track and looked at Double Trouble as they smiled at me, showing does pointy teeth of them.

“I'm noticing a pattern here; it seems you enjoy the chaos…” I commented.

“Good observation, darling, you are absolutely right, I enjoy the chaos and much more when it is I who causes it” They waved their hair with one of their hands as they spoke.

I smiled softly and shook my head slightly, “why doesn’t it surprise me?” I laughed softly. “So, that's why you've been spending time with me? I'm practically a chaos”

“Maybe…” they whispered. I locked my eyes with theirs, I didn’t t expect that answer to sound so sincere, but it did… I didn’t even notice a single bit of mockery. I took a couple of steps forward to the magical barrier.

“Then I’m glad I am…” I whispered softly... Our eyes didn’t move from each other, we stayed like that for what seemed like hours until I noticed how Double Trouble's gaze drifted a few seconds to my neck and then back to my eyes. I instantly took a step back. “But… I’m still worried, what if Glimmer does something that has to do with the weapon, what if she already discovered a way to activate it” I changed subject quickly and began wandering around the room once again. I really didn’t want to have a conversation about the bandages in my neck right now.

I heard Double Trouble sigh in defeat, “stop worrying about that, you should be worrying about important things”

“This is very important” I replied automatically.

“More important than your talking shadow?” they asked with a somewhat mocking tone on their voice. I looked at them reproachfully. “What? I’m just saying what you told me” they replied.

“Stop mocking me, this is serious…” I sighed in defeat.

“Yeah, and so is your talking shadow” I groaned. I turned my gaze back to Double Trouble who hadn't moved from their position on the couch but was now directing one of their pointy smiles at me. I stroked my temple carefully, where I could feel a throbbing pain growing, very soon I would have a tremendous headache, I know for sure…

“I don’t really know what I’m going to do, it seems that I will never be able to get out of the damn hole where I am... I keep making mistake after mistake... lying to my friends... not going after Glimmer, I just want to be free but…” my words were trapped in my mouth... I wasn’t able to formulate any word, absolutely nothing came to my mind... What prevented me from being free...?

“You know… you can always come with me” I instantly looked at Double Trouble somewhat surprised at their words. “You can be free that way... The two of us can surely find a way to get rid of that seal” I looked down at my feet thoughtfully. They’re right… but…

“I don’t want to escape… I want to gain my freedom, I still want to change their minds, make them see that beyond a Nightcrawler, I’m still Sirius…” I feel that escaping would not be the best decision, I cannot run away from this. I want to fix everything... That doesn't take away how upset I am about all these years of lying, but after Bow's words, I think they deserve a chance at least. If only they gave it to me to prove that I am still Sirius and that being a nightcrawler doesn’t change anything, maybe everything could return to normal, but I know that they won’t. That's why the book was so important...

“But they still lied to you, do you think you can change their mind?” they sighed in defeat. “The proposal will still stand… You can come with me. The two of us can be unstoppable” The proposal sounded quite attractive to my ears, I'm not even going to deny it, but as I said before, I don't think escaping is the solution to all my problems. They will still follow me everywhere I go…

I smiled softly, “You’re already unstoppable without me… You’re incredible” I said. They looked at me and smiled confidentially after a few seconds.

“I obviously am, but it wouldn't hurt to have a faithful bodyguard by my side” I laughed at their words.

“Guess you’re right, I’ll… I’ll consider it” I said calmly, and they looked at me with a smile. Looking at these moments, where a soft smile adorned Double Trouble's face made me think... How did I get to get so deeply involved with them...? But the answer was extremely clear, they have been there for me since the very beginning and they didn’t even use me to get information about the mission, even when they had so many opportunities… instead they comforted me in my worst moments and practically offered me a life with them. Which surprised me... coming from someone soooo... smug like them. It warmed my heart… “But really I don’t think you even need a bodyguard” I commented after a couple of seconds had passed.

“No, I don’t, but stop making excuses, darling, you're not going to make me change my mind” As soon as I opened my mouth to respond to what they had said outside the room I could hear the murmur of the guards. I closed my mouth instantly and directed my gaze towards the door of the room. I took a few steps toward the door and payed attention.

“Queen Glimmer just got back… she looked pretty serious when she arrived, I hope she doesn't bring bad news... she also called a princess reunion” I heard one of the guards say in a whisper. I looked down at the floor thoughtfully; well although I couldn't stop her before, surely now I can make her see reason, maybe she will listen to me. I at least have to try…

I turned around and looked at Double Trouble. “Go on, go do your important stuff, my star, I’m sure we’ll see each other sooner than you think” they said with reluctance. I gave them a smile and I could see that for what seemed like seconds, they gave me a small smile, almost imperceptible, but I know what I had seen.

“I’ll come back later and tell you everything, okay?” I warned them, I turned around and left the room, both guards standing on either side of the door seemed startled by my sudden appearance, it seems that they had forgotten that I was inside, or simply thought that I would stay much longer.

I walked quickly towards the war room and once I reached it, just before I could enter, both guards guarding the door blocked my path with their spears. I looked at them with confusion, why didn't they let me in? I frowned after several minutes have passed and opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the door that suddenly opened, letting me see Glimmer in front of me and behind her the other princesses. Glimmer ignored me and walked pass me and continued on her way. I frowned and followed them.

“But… How are you so sure that they’ll help us?” asked Perfuma visibly worried. Did I hear that correctly…? She said they?

“I know they will. Don’t worry about it, go to your position and wait for the signal” Glimmer answered. What the...? What the hell? I walked hastily until I was facing Glimmer, stopping her dead on her track.

“Glimmer, what the hell is going on?” I asked.

“None of your business, why didn’t you run off with Adora and Bow?” she asked back.

I frowned, “Glimmer, please, what the hell are you planning?” I asked once again, this time sounding more aggressive.

She took a step closer, “You really want to know? Well, I found the way to save all Etheria, that’s it. Now get out of my way, I have better things to do” she answered, I took a step back slightly surprised.

“Glimmer… That means… Light Hope told you everything…” I mumbled under my breath. I frowned and looked up quickly, moving to intercept her path again. “Glimmer, no. You can’t do it. Whatever you’re planning you have to stop it right away” I said seriously.

“Ha! Do you think that now that I’ve found a way to save everyone I’m going to stop, just because you’re asking me to?” she frowned. “I’m not going to stop this plan” I saw how she planned to move again, but I quickly held her shoulders making her look at me.

“Glimmer, please. You gotta understand, It’s too dangerous!” I looked at her worried. If I don't stop her now there will be no way to stop her later...

“No! You know what I’m sick of all of this! Adora, Bow and you think that you can order me around whenever you want, but you can’t!” she screamed at me, I frowned slightly.

“Glimmer, you know that’s not what we’re doing, you need to understand that this weapon is beyond all of us, it’s dangerous, why can’t you see that?” I gently squeezed her shoulders as I spoke.

“No, it’s not! You really want to know what’s dangerous?! Have a monster like you in the castle!” She yelled at me and took a step back away from me. I felt a knot in my throat after hearing her words and behind Glimmer I could see how the princesses began murmuring softly visibly confused at Glimmer's words.

I swallowed hard and shook my head gently, “you don’t mean that Glimmer…” I whispered.

“For a matter a fact, I do… I never wanted you here! No one wanted you here, but we had to do it because Aunt Castaspella was desperate. You are nothing more than a monster, vile and selfish. You don't know how hurt Aunt Castaspella was when you said all those things to her, when we just wanted to help you!” she began screaming at me. I opened my mouth to say something, but Glimmer began to speak once again. “But what else could be expected of you, after all you are only a Nightcrawler! And everything would be better if you just disappeared from the face of the planet.” Gasps were heard. I turned my gaze to each of the members in the hall. Each one of those people, who I could still call my friends, saw me with complete terror reflected on their faces. I took a step back, feeling great tightness in my chest, my hands trembled, and my legs faltered. Unconsciously my shadow began to move erratically, and a large number of terrified screams were heard.

I looked at Glimmer, who stared at me for a few seconds with what appeared to be regret, deflecting several attacks from my shadow. I looked down at the ground. “Sirius, you gotta stop this!” she screamed at me.

The attacks of my shadow became increasingly erratic attacking each of the people in the hallway. Until a sudden pain shot through my head making me scream in pain. The movements of the shadows stopped automatically, and I fell to my knees on the floor, holding my head with both hands tightly as I felt a hot liquid drip from the corner of my lip. I closed my eyes tight and clenched my jaw, another surge of pain shot through my head and I screamed again. I felt something hitting my back squarely pushing me to the ground and then something pointy pressed to my neck, a spear.

“Knock him out, before he does something else” ordered Glimmer. Glimmer… I tried to speak, but nothing came out. Glimmer… I’m not a monster… I’m not… I opened my eyes slightly and saw debris everywhere, smashed walls and holes in the ceiling... And not only that, in the background I could see the princesses looking at me with absolute fear as they murmured among themselves. I closed my eyes tightly. I am a monster. I felt the blow to my neck, and everything went dark.

After what seemed like hours, I opened my eyes tired and sore. I sat carefully on my bed with one of my hands gently caressing the nape of my neck, which was the place where I currently felt the most pain. What the hell happened? I looked around seeing how my bed was surrounded by a magic barrier, and it was there where all the memories of what had happened came to me... I looked down and closed my eyes. I had attacked the princesses... I... I... Glimmer and Castaspella were right I am dangerous... I... I’m a monster... I covered my face with my hands and dropped gently on the bed.

My hands were shaking and inside of me I felt like a storm was hitting, I couldn’t believe what had happened, but the magic barrier around me was clear proof of what had happened and there was no turning back, I couldn’t erase what had already happened. I hated this situation, I wanted to forget everything that had happened, but I couldn’t do it, Glimmer's words echoed in my head. I can’t believe she said that, was all of that true?... Did she always hate me? The pain in my chest after every time I remembered her words made me want to disappear completely, if I did, maybe everyone could be happy again...

Maybe if Castaspella hadn't found me... everything would have been... I sighed in defeat; I should go back to Mystacor…. A soft tapping took me out of my reverie. I was completely static, thinking that maybe it had been product of my imagination and maybe it would disappear as soon as I moved, but again after a few seconds the same tapping was heard. I moved gently from where I was lying and sat on the bed, in front of me on the other side of the barrier was Double Trouble looking at me, for a few seconds I wanted to ask them how they had come here, but soon I remembered that they were also part of Glimmer’s plan.

“Whoa, you look… terrible, it seems that it was as bad as the guards say it was…” they said mockingly. I laid down in my bed again without wanting to talk to them at the time.

I closed my eyes and sighed in defeat. “They were right... I am a monster and I can’t change that, maybe I should have returned with Castaspella so they could put the seal on me again, then everyone would be happy...” I whispered answering anyway even if I didn't feel like doing it.

“What…?” they asked incredulously. “What about your happiness? Didn’t you want to be free?”

“I want to… but I’m dangerous…” I whispered once again.

“Dangerous? From what I heard Sparkle said some pretty nasty things to you, your reaction doesn't surprise me at all, you felt betrayed and since you don't know how to control your powers, you snapped, what did you think was going to happen? What happened was not your fault and you are not a monster” I turned my gaze to them without moving, seeing their frown and their reproachful gaze.

“I could have hurt someone, Double Trouble… What if I go with you and hurt you?” I asked softly, my gaze fixed on those bright eyes.

“You’re not going to hurt me, I know that” they declared. I sighed in defeat and closed my eyes.

“You don’t know that for sure… I already make my decision I’m going back to Mystacor and accept my fate” I confessed. That was my best plan so far, if I went back to Mystacor then everyone would be safe again... It didn't matter if the seal ended up killing me, if I could keep others safe that way I would do it.

“You’re really going to go back? They’re going to kill you, you know that… don’t you?” they asked seriously. I sat on the bed and stared at them. Of course, I knew… And now that I think about it, Glimmer must have already told Castaspella what happened, and all those sorcerers are already planning my punishment...

“I’m sorry…” I whispered softly.

“Sirius…” The pad started beeping, interrupting them, they looked at the pad on their hands and sighed heavily. “I have to go…” they looked back at me. “I know you’ll do the right thing; I’ll be waiting for you in the Fright Zone and you better look presentable” They smiled at me slightly and quickly left the room. The right thing to do… I looked down at my lap and sighed. I closed my eyes and let myself fall onto the bed once again.

What was the right thing to do? I just want to keep my... the princesses and Double Trouble safe. If I were to harm them, I would never forgive myself. Going back to Mystacor is the most obvious solution, but if I go back... then it means that I’ll completely lose what I most wanted from the beginning... and that is my freedom. I groaned and placed my arm over my face covering my eyes, what should I do...?

I listened as the door opened again and took my arm from my face, I looked up and at a slow pace came Shadow Weaver walking until she reached the magic barrier. What the hell? Is today the damn day to visit Sirius? Maybe everyone wanted to see the worst monster that has lived in the planet.

“You look….” She began talking.

I lifted one of my hands interrupting her, “Let me guess… Terrible?” I said.

“I was going to say like a complete disgrace, but yours works too” I rolled my eyes and groaned.

“What are you doing here?” I asked tiredly.

“Queen Glimmer is distracted with her new plan” she declared, and I looked at her in confusion.

“Annnd… why are you telling me this? I already know that” I asked.

“It will be easier for you to escape that way” she explained. Wait… did she said escape?

I shook my head softly, “I’m not going to escape…” I replied. She remained silent. “I’m going to stay here… and wait for Castaspella to come for me…” I sighed heavily. “There’s no place left for me here… I imagine you have already heard what Glimmer told me… She didn’t want me here from the very beginning and now that everyone knows the truth, none of them want me here anymore.” I said softly as my gaze fell on my lap.

“You shouldn't believe the words spoken by a person full of anger” I heard her say, I looked up, straight at her mask. Her words gave me some hope, what she said was true, when you're upset you say things without thinking, you just let all your anger out…

I shook my head slightly, “Why the hell are you helping me? I really don’t get it…” I asked. First, she had helped me find the magic book that belonged to my relatives, although it wasn’t very helpful at all and now, she’s giving me some kind of advice? I can't understand anything, why would she do this for me?

She remained silent for several minutes and then turned around with her back to me, “Why did you wanted the book for?” I frowned in confusion for a couple of seconds and then my whole complexion relaxed.

“I… I thought that maybe the book would have something that said that the Nightcrawlers weren’t monsters… I wanted to get my friends back, but now it doesn’t matter anymore… I’m a monster in their eyes and that won’t change” I whispered.

“And what do you think? Are you a monster?” she asked. The words of my shadow came quickly to my head, telling me that I was wrong and that we were not monsters as everyone said we were...

I shook my head, “No… I know… deep inside me, I can feel… That I’m not a monster as everyone believes…, but what can I do…? I don’t know what to do… I don’t know what is the right thing to do…” I mumbled under my breath.

“Why don’t you search for the answer if you’re so convinced that you’re not a monster?” she asked. I looked down once again and remained silent.

Search for the truth...? I heard footsteps move away from me and then how the door opened again and seconds later how it closed. I frowned and clenched my fists... I know I'm not a monster, something deep inside me is screaming at the top of their lungs that I’m not... I looked up with determination... I'm not going to give up, this is the right thing to do. I must search for the truth and for that I need the damn book; I cannot let them take me back to Mystacor and lock me up. I'm going to escape... and take what it’s mine.

I got out of bed and approached the magic barrier... this thing was practically indestructible, I clenched my fists and took a breath, better try something than not try anything. I narrowed my eyes and punched the magic barrier with all my strength, which like glass, shattered into many pieces and fell to the ground.

I blinked several times at what had just happened and shook my head quickly, I needed to focus. I ran to my desk where my scythe lay and took it, adjusted it on my back and moved my shoulders slightly getting used to the weight, I nodded once I felt more comfortable and took my cape from where it was lying on a chair, they must have taken it off when I was unconscious, it also seemed to be a bit torn at the end. I shook my head again and put on my cape. Once ready, I ran out of the room and looked everywhere... the castle was completely deserted, maybe because of Glimmer’s plan.

Now I must go get the book to get the hell out of here, I reached behind me and held my scythe, I could not be entirely sure that the castle is completely empty, so I must be prepared. With my heart beating fast in my chest I started running towards King Micah's mural. For several minutes, the path was completely calm, until I heard footsteps approaching through the hallway that I had to take to get to the mural... I let out a shaky breath, I didn't want to have to do this, but they didn't leave me an option, well it's not like something is going to change, they already think I'm a monster. I nodded with determination and ran towards them, there were a total of three guards. The three saw me with surprise and fright at the same time, they rushed to draw their weapons, but I didn’t give them time to do so, with a clean blow with the handle of my scythe I knocked out the three of them.

“Sorry…” I whispered and walked pass them.

I started running again until I reached the King's mural, I approached it waiting for it to reopen without the need for me to use my powers, but such was my luck that the mural didn’t move a single centimeter and not only that, I could hear footsteps and voices approaching where I was. I frowned and pressed my free hand against the mural, there was no other, I focused completely on what I wanted to happen and suddenly my shadows came out as Shadow Weaver had told me that had happened the first time we entered. The mural began to move, and I took a step back, my shadows returned back to me, and I looked behind me. I could already see the shadows of the people who were walking in this direction. I looked impatiently at the mural and once it was fully open, I ran inside without looking back. There was no time to lose, I just hopped they didn’t see the mural moving.

I ran using the light that came from the opening of the mural, but this gradually faded away, once the light completely disappeared I stopped in my tracks and looked everywhere trying to find something that could give me light, but that was not necessary, a bright white light illuminated the room completely and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that I was in the book room. I made it... I laughed softly and walked over to the pedestal, where the book lay. I placed my scythe on its strap and took a closer look at the book. Well, this is it.

Once I took the book in my hands, I felt a strange tingling through my body. I took a big breath and smiled, now I can get out of here. I started my way back to the mural, trying to remember what paths I had taken through that tunnel so I wouldn’t crash into any wall by accident. Once I finally reached the end, the mural opened and luckily, there was no one waiting outside for me. I sighed gratefully, I didn't want to have to keep hitting more guards, they didn't deserve it they were just doing their job.

I started walking again, but this time in the direction of the castle’s exit, once I finally reached the door, I opened it slightly and poked my head out verifying that there was absolutely no guard waiting outside, once I was 100% safe, I left the castle and started to walk away slowly. But suddenly I felt a tightness in my chest, there was something pulling me to Bright Moon, and I knew perfectly well what that is... I stopped in my tracks and looked back, admiring for the last time the structure of the castle where I had lived most of my life, a castle that was both full of good memories as well as bad memories... I smiled sadly.

Inside me there was a great fight, something told me to stay and something else inside me told me that if I stayed here, I would never find what I was looking for... Besides, it's not as if I have something left for me here, anyway... However, if I leave, I know that there will be someone waiting for me, someone who, even knowing what I am, is not afraid of me. I looked at the castle for the last time and then started walking once again, but an exclamation caught my attention... It was Adora... She had returned, and surely, she was with the others, I must... I turned around, looking over to where I heard Adora's voice come from. For a few minutes I doubted what to do next, whether to leave without saying anything or run to where they were and at least say goodbye…

Well, she is my friend... I have to at least tell her something, I have to tell her the truth. I ran to where they were and I could see that as I had thought they were Adora, Bow, Swift Wind, Entrapta... and the last person seemed very familiar, I looked at the man for a few seconds and soon realized that it was no other but King Micah, I opened my mouth slightly in surprise and shook my head after a few seconds, now is not the time for this. I moved closer until I was in their range of sight and I could see the surprise on the face of everyone present.

“Sirius, you’re here! Hurry up, you need to go with Bow, Swift Wind and Entrapta, we gotta stop all of this!” she exclaimed, I walked towards her without paying attention to the words that hurriedly came out of her mouth, and who would blame her... When I was right in front of her, I could see her sudden confusion and surprise. “What are you doing Sirius? Aren’t you listening to me?” she asked sounding completely irritated.

“Adora… I’m not going with you, just listen, okay? You don’t need me, none of you do. I know you can stop this without me” I looked back at Bow, who looked at me with surprise, I looked back at Adora, “You’re going to hear horrible things about me, things I can’t explain to you right know because I don’t understand them myself, but when the time comes I want you to listen to me. Trust me, Adora” I smiled softly at her.

“Sirius…” she began speaking, but I shook my head.

“I know…” I whispered “I know you will success, good luck” I took a couple of steps back and then began walking once again, “Oh and Adora listen more to your heart, it worked for me…” I took a quick glance back at them and saw the sad and confused expression, except for King Micah, who looked at me with surprise, he might have just recognized me.

“You… you are…” I heard the King say.

“Yes, I am” I answered without stopping. I continued on my way, this time without looking back, outside of Bright Moon, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, now I just had to get to the Fright Zone. I know exactly at this very moment while walking through the forest, a war was raging everywhere, or at least that was what I supposed, but I was very sure of it. On the way I could hear the thousands of explosions over and over, coming from everywhere, that only confirmed my assumptions.

While walking through the forest you could see everywhere different pieces of metal scattered and completely destroyed, but among all that garbage something caught my attention. It was one of those sliders The Horde use to move faster, and it seemed to be in good condition, finally some goddamn luck. I walked over to the slider and started to check it out, maybe it could take me to the Fright Zone, the only problem was that it was wrapped in roots. I sighed heavily; this was definitely Perfuma's doing. Well, the only thing I can do is cut the roots, I held the book under my arm, while I took out my scythe and began to cut each of the roots that held the slider. It took me a bit of time to get all the roots off the slider, but once I was done, I got on the slider and begged it to work with all my might, and thankfully it did. Now much faster I continued on my way to the Fright Zone.

As soon as I got to see the Fright Zone in the distance these strange waves of energy began to come out of the ground, I clenched my jaw, I did not know what those things were, but I had a bad feeling, and I know it had to do with the heart of Etheria, in the distance I spotted a figure well known to me and I approached them with the slider. I stopped once I was on one side of them and they looked at me in surprise and then showed me on of their typical smiles as they placed one of their hands on their hip.

“So, you find out what was the right thing to do?” they asked.

I smiled and nodded, “Of course I did, I couldn’t leave you here waiting” I saw how they opened their mouths to say something, but many more lights began to emerge from the ground. I looked up at the sky with disbelieve. Suddenly the light disappeared and instead in the sky you could see a million stars.

“Well, it seems that you have competition now, but let’s leave this for another occasion, okay, my star?” I looked back at Double Trouble as they also looked at the stars that now adorned in the sky.

“Yeah… We need to go… I have a bad feeling” I mumbled under my breath. “where do you want to go?” I asked.

“Where else but my home, the Crimson Waste” I nodded at their words and held out a hand helping them up and once they were above the slider I accelerated, this time bound for Crimson Waste, the place where we had met, along the way I could notice how the strange waves of energy disappeared and I knew that Adora had succeeded, but still the ships that now floated through the sky told me that the worst was yet to come, and that was Horde Prime. I felt Double Trouble's hands on my shoulders as I led us through the desert.

Their hands were quite comforting to me, but I couldn't help but think that I wasn't there to help others, but what could I do about it? I don't think any of them want me close again. This time I could not do anything to help them, and that is why I am now looking for my own way... Even if there were many more threats now, I would not return with them, they didn’t need me. My path now only involves myself and Double Trouble, or at least I hope they will stay by my side in this path. So, yes, for now on… I’m only Sirius the NightCrawler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another quick announcement !!  
> This Friday I will not publish any chapter, the new chapter will be uploaded next week. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crimson Waste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, here it is!!!! The new chapter!!!  
> I hope you enjoy it!!! ^^

I adjusted the hood of my new cape as I walk crestfallen through the streets of the Crimson Waste. Since Double Trouble and I had arrived here a few days ago, things had gotten more and more complicated with those strange structures that could now be seen everywhere and not only that, there were also those strange sentinel robots, which luckily still hadn’t managed to fully enter the Crimson Waste, being this a place of ruffians they are more prepared for any attack than any other place, but even so it is only a matter of time for those robots to overcome the defenses.

From where I am, walking through the market in search of breakfast, I can clearly hear the gunshots and the screams of war, and although I feel bad about not helping them, I had no choice, the rumors had spread very fast, and now everyone knew of the existence of the last Nightcrawler and that it was me. So, I had to keep a low profile while Double Trouble searched for some information about the Diamond Cave. I still remember how the second day after arriving, Double Trouble had woken me up one morning telling me that I had to change my appearance even a little, and although at first I was not sure if a change of look would help, in the end I agreed… What can I say, they are very persuasive, I just couldn't refuse. And that’s how I ended with a new haircut. Double Trouble had almost completely trimmed the left side of my hair, while they left the right side of my hair long, and while I find it weird that they didn't trim that side of my hair, I didn't ask. I just thanked them silently.

I went to one of the food stalls and ordered some bread, dried meat, cheese, and milk. The man, who looked to me like an old lizard, looked at me suspiciously, but still placed everything I asked for in a bag. I let out an exhausted sigh once I paid the old lizard for the food and started on my way this time in the direction of what was now my new home. As I walked down the street, I couldn't help but feel a strange tingling on the back of my neck. Every time I heard any of the explosions, a desire arose inside me to run to the place where all the commotion came from. I shook my head several times trying to get out any thoughts that wanted to guide me towards the battle zone. And for a few seconds it had worked, until I heard a scream that sounded like a child. I stopped dead on my tracks and frowned. If a child had screamed, that means that at least some of the robots must have circumvented the defense…

I closed my eyes and tried to think of something to distract me from the cries for help, someone would take care of it. It doesn’t have to be me; I thought, but with each passing minute a feeling of heaviness grew in my chest, until I just couldn't hold it back. I clenched my jaw tightly and opened my eyes, as much as I tried to look for something that could distract me, I couldn't find it. And I just couldn't turn my back on someone who needed my help, that’s not who I am. Full of determination I turned around and ran to where the calls for help were heard, holding tightly the package of food, that a few minutes ago I had acquired, with my left hand, while with my right hand I reached for my scythe and held it, ready for whatever was ahead.

Once you reached the area, I could see some destroyed walls and rubble strewn across the streets. I frowned and looked around, my assumptions had been true, it seems that some robots had evaded the defense... Another scream echoed through the air much closer to where I was at the moment and I quickly started my way to the place where it came from. I arrived to what seemed to be a dead end, where there were three teenagers hugging some younger children surrounded by a group of four robots that were pointing their weapons at them.

“Please, somebody! Help!!!” screamed one of the girls form the top of her lungs with tears on her eyes. Without waiting any longer, I propelled myself with the help of some trash cans, that lay to one side of the alley, and jumped over the robots falling in front of the teenagers, the robots fired their weapons and I quickly made my scythe spin in circles deflecting each one of the shots that were aimed at us. I heard the screams of the kids behind me and looked at them sideways, the shots were destroying part of the walls and some debris were falling on them I had to act fast before everything got worse.

I frowned and tightened my grip on the bag of food I was holding in my left hand. Double Trouble will be so upset with me... but what can I do. I threw the bag of food at one of the robots directly at its head causing it to become distracted for a few seconds and to stop firing. I took advantage of the distraction of that robot to move quickly away from the children making the other robots follow me, thus giving the children a chance to escape.

I started to run again this time followed by those robots, I had to find an open place where I could fight with them without worrying that someone else could get hurt. As I ran I could see in the distance the long wooden bridges that had been left after taking out Mara's ship, I smiled; I could use the place where Mara's ship had been. There was no other way. I headed in that direction and stopped as soon as I was in the center of that hole. Now there were not only four robots, there were at least two more robots and they had me surrounded. I gripped the handle of my scythe and looked around me. It's better this way, I had called the attention of the robots that had managed to enter, if I destroy them, then there will be no more problems. I just hope that those who are fighting at the borders don’t continue to let these damn robots enter... I stood completely still, waiting for those robots to make the first move, and they did. The shots started and I dodged all of them with some difficulty, after all it was six to one, this was not a fair battle... For them. I ran towards one of the robots dodging the shots, jumping and then with a clean cut I sliced the head of the first robot, I propelled myself with its body that was still standing, falling on the shoulders of one of the robots. The other robots shot him, causing it to stop working completely. I jumped to the ground and because of a brief distraction one of the shots managed to hit me in the right side making me stagger. I stuck the tip of my scythe’s blade into the ground, so as not to fall and then I directed my sight to the robot that had shot me.

I grunted in pain and quickly ran over to the robot, striking its chest with the handle of my scythe and then slicing off its head. Three were still missing. I looked at the three remaining robots heading my way and I bit my lip in pain. Come on Sirius, three robots are nothing... I positioned myself into a fighting stance and frowned, ready for what was about to come. Suddenly rocks began to hit the robots, who now turned their attention to one of the wooden bridges where a girl stood throwing some stones at them. I looked at the girl in amazement and shook my head quickly, I should take advantage of this opportunity. I ran towards the robots and quickly cut off their heads with ease, but unfortunately for me, one of them had shot the bridge, destroying it causing the girl to lose her balance. Luckily before she could fall, she held onto one of the wooden planks that had survived the impact and remained suspended in the air.

The girl's screams echoed through the air as she swayed back and forth, I hurriedly ran towards one of the bridges, I had to get to where she was. If that girl touched the ground... I don't even want to think about it. I ran across one of the bridges until I heard another heartrending scream, I looked up at the girl, the wooden plank had finally yielded to the weight of the girl. I took a few steps back taking a deep breath and then I began to run quickly, taking momentum this way and then jumping off and catching the girl in the air. With the help of my scythe I managed to hold onto some rocks before we hit the ground.

I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the girl trembling in my arms. Visibly scared by what had happened, well, she had her first near-death experience. I can't blame her for being terrified.

“You okay, kid?” I asked, she looked at me and nodded, still trembling. “Look, I’m going to let you down on the bridge, okay? You’re okay, you don’t need to be scared, it’s over” I tried to comfort her, she just nodded once again. Very carefully I left her on the suspension bridge. Once her feet touched the wooden planks she just dropped to her knees, and then I carefully went down. I crouched down beside her placing my scythe on its strap. I looked at the girl trying to search for any injuries, but she none. I placed my hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“You were very brave, thanks for the help” I said gratefully, if she hadn't distracted the robots, I don't know what I would have done, maybe that would have been the end for me. I began getting up with some effort, but before I could fully stand up the girl took my hand and pulled me down.

I looked at her in surprise as she looked at me with a worried expression, “where’s She-ra?” she asked. I held my breath. What does that even mean…? “You’re the Royal Guard, right? Where’s She-Ra?” she held my hand tightly. I took a step back and looked down at her, I placed my hand on my head feeling my hair instead of the soft fabric of my hood. I lowered my hand in resignation and looked away, the hood must have fallen with everything that had happened, I'm a fool to think that the hood would have remained still with everything I did... “Where’s She-Ra?!” she asked with a scream.

I bit my lip without looking back at her, “Maybe she’s dealing with other things…” In reality I didn’t even know anything about them since I left.

“No, she’s not, everyone says that she disappeared” I looked at the girl in confusion.

“Disappeared…?” I asked in a whisper as she began crying in front of me. I crouched down in front of her and tried to reach her with my hand.

“Monster!” I heard a scream that stopped me dead on my tracks… I looked down at the wooden planks of the bridge. Damn it… I should have put the hood on again.

“Get lost!”

“Abomination!” they started throwing rocks at me. A thank you, would have been better. I thought bitterly.

“Murderer!” I clenched my teeth and stood up, I adjusted my hood and started walking again while people kept throwing rocks at me, several of those rocks came to hit me, but I didn't bother to do something, it's not like they were going to hear anything I said. They will simply ignore me and continue throwing rocks at me. And I wasn't going to attack them either, that wasn't the kind of person I was, I wasn't a monster like they said I was...

After a while I finally lost sight of them and stopped listening to their erroneous accusations. And not only that, but to my delight I stopped feeling the rocks hitting my already sore body. I opened the door to the house, where I now resided, and sighed once inside. I leaned against the door and closed my eyes. Home Sweet Home? Well at least here, I know they are not going to judge me.

I opened my eyes after a while and evaluated the house carefully. It wasn't that big, which was very strange to me considering the enormous amount of money Double Trouble could potentially make. We had a small kitchen, a bathroom, and one single room, which was a living room and also a bedroom. It wasn't what I was used to, but it actually felt much better. I walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. I grunted in pain; I think I should check the wound on my side...

I took off my cape, then my scythe, placing it on the floor, and then proceeded to remove my shirt. I placed both, my cape and my shirt aside and then looked at my side, it was starting to turn purple, surely I had a broken rib or at least it was cracked, it didn't hurt so much to breathe, so it was probably cracked. I leaned back against the back of the sofa and closed my eyes again, it was not so serious, it would heal by itself. Now all I wanted to do was to rest just for a little, because since I had entered the house, I felt my head began throbbing, an indication that I would soon have a headache, and what better method to get rid of the headache than to sleep.

Just when I began drifting away, I heard the door open. I opened my eyes and looked at Double Trouble as they walked into de room. They looked at me and then turned around, walking to another part of the small house. I made myself comfortable on the sofa and watched them return this time with the first aid kit on their hands.

They sat across from me on the coffee table. “What happened, my star? They finally asked. They took a small piece of cotton from the kit, they placed alcohol on it and began to rub it over the wounds that adorned my body, luckily they were only simple scrapes.

“Some robots…” I said, but they looked straight at my eyes, silencing me.

“I already know that part; I mean, what happened to you, darling? You look terrible” they explained as they resume their work of cleaning the wounds on my body.

“You don’t know already?” I mocked them and they pressed their hand harder on my swollen and bruised side, I grunted in pain. “Fine… Fine, stop…” they stopped applying pressure on my side. I sighed. “My hood fell off when I was helping some people and I guess… some of them recognized me…” I said.

“You shouldn't have tried to make yourself the hero, they didn't even appreciate what you did for them. You didn’t get these little bruises and scrapes from those robots, my star” They said while passing one of their hands over my shoulders. It was true, people hadn’t even appreciated what I had done for them, but I couldn’t help it, they needed help.

“I couldn’t just stay there and watch innocent people get hurt, they don’t deserve it” I replied softly.

They sighed and looked at me with a raised eyebrow, “That loyalty of yours is gonna get you kill, darling” The cotton dipped in alcohol this time pressed against my head making me hiss. Double Trouble removed the cotton from my head, and I could see that it was stained with blood. Huh... so that's why my head hurt. I believe that so many stones were thrown at me that I didn't even know where they were hitting me. The only thing that I could really feel was my side, that was the only thing I could tell that hurt.

“Guess you’re right…” I mumbled under my breath while Double Trouble was now beginning to bandage my side. But If I hadn't gone to save those kids, they would have been dead by now... why hasn't the rebellion...? I remembered the words of that girl. “Hey… This girl said something…” I began speaking. Double Trouble hummed in response, making clear that they were listening to me. “She said She-Ra disappeared… Do you know anything about that?” I asked.

They finished bandaging me and then looked straight at my eyes, “I’ve heard a couple of things… Most of them say that She-Ra is gone for good, and well, how not to believe it? They say that She-Ra hasn’t appeared in any of the places that have been invaded so far. I also learned that the rebellion had to leave Bright Moon, but that they are still operating in a secret camp, but still, there is no trace of She-ra” I frowned at their words.

“If She-Ra is gone, those that mean Adora…” I looked down at my feet a little worried just thinking about Adora being captured or worst…

“Your friends are fine… Well, most of them…” I looked back at Double Trouble as they stood up form the coffee table.

“What?” I asked in disbelieve. They picked up the first aid kit and walked toward the bathroom, with me following them closely. “What do you mean by that?” I asked once again. They left the first aid kit on its place and then looked back at me.

“Honey, I'm going to start charging you for all the information I give you for free if you keep demanding too much” They tried to subtly change the subject, but I wouldn’t allow myself to be carried away, I needed to know. I looked at them with complete seriousness as they looked at me slightly uncomfortable and then a couple of seconds later, they sighed in defeat. “Fine… You’re lucky you’re handsome…”

“It seems that Sparkles and my Cash-Kitten were caught by Horde Prime, but knowing your friends, they are surely already devising a plan to rescue her, so don't worry. We have another much more important thing to worry about” They explained as they walked pass me out from the bathroom. His words had me momentarily petrified, Horde Prime had captured Glimmer? So that meant her life was in danger... I must!... I must... _And everything would be better if you just disappeared from the face of the planet;_ her words echoed in my head as if it were a scratched record player. I sighed in defeat and lowered my head while shaking it slightly... If Adora, Bow and the others were already devising a plan to get Glimmer back then I don't have to worry at all... They didn't need me, and I think what they least want right now is to have to see me again. They are better off without me.

I raised my head and walked back to the living room, still with an incessant feeling of guilt in my chest. I plopped back onto the sofa and sighed again. What if Adora and the others fail to rescue Glimmer...? I should be with them, but... now everyone knows that I am a Nightcrawler, no one wants to have me around...

“Oh, stop beating yourself over this, honey. As I said before, you have better things to worry about” they reminded me once again. I looked at them as they flopped down on their bed and began to check their nails carefully.

I began scratching the back of my neck, “Yeah, but Glimmer is my friend, I can’t just ignore the fact that she is been held captive by Horde Prime…”

They stopped everything what they were doing and looked straight at me with a confused expression, “You’re kidding, right? After everything she did and said to you?” They asked.

I sighed and looked down at my feet, “I know, but, damn it, I grew up with her. Yes, I’m angry about everything she has done, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about her…”

They sighed loudly, “Fine… But you don’t have to worry about her, the others got that covered. We just need to focus on finding where Diamond Cave is, and fast. Now that everyone knows you’re here, they’ll try to hunt you down.” I looked back at them while they had gotten back to check their nails. Now that I think about it, it's true... Now that all the Crimson Waste knew that the last Nightcrawler was in the vicinity they were not going to stop chasing me, and not only that... Now because of my carelessness Double Trouble could also be in danger. If everyone found out that they were helping me they would surely try to hurt them too, and I don't want that to happen... Damn it... I can’t risk them like this.

“You know, maybe I should go on my own” They looked at me. “I mean, I don’t want you to get hurt… What if they find out you’re helping me? You could get hurt” I explained.

They laughed making me frown, “Oh, my star, you already know I have knack for getting out of tight spots” They smiled at me, showing they pointy teeth.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, “I guess you’re right, but still!”

They laughed once again, “Oh, darling, relax. As soon as I get the information, we’ll get out of this place. Don’t worry so much, you’ll get wrinkles if you worry to much” They stood up form the bed and walked towards me. “And since you didn’t bring any food. I’m going to go find some food and also information while you stay here like the good boy you are and rest” they poked my nose with one of their fingers as I laughed nervously at the mention of food.

“Sorry… About the food thing… I kind of… used it as a weapon” I apologized. They only hummed in responses and walked away form me.

“Rest, I'll be back soon” I heard them said from the door. I heard the door being opened and then closed. I sighed heavily and lay completely on the sofa looking straight at the ceiling. My head was spinning, so much had happened in such a short time that I no longer even knew what was more important, to know what happened with Adora, with Bright Moon, with the rebellion... that Glimmer had been kidnapped or the story of my ancestors... I closed my eyes exhausted and tried to leave my mind blank. After all, there’s nothing I could do about Glimmer or the others... They most likely hate me… and fear me. I still remember that look on their faces after what I did… I don’t want to go back to people that think I’m a murderer or a monster… There’s only Double Trouble and me right now… No one else, just the two of us… My mind soon began drifting away and soon enough I found myself in complete darkness.

A loud explosion was what jolted me awake. I sat on the couch quickly and looked around disoriented. Another explosion echoed in the distance followed by screams of terror. I placed my hand on my forehead thinking that maybe those noises were in my imagination, but unfortunately for me one of the explosions shook the building and that's where I reacted completely. I got up completely alarmed and grabbed my shirt and cape, putting both on. I reached for my scythe from where it lay on the floor and cautiously walked towards the door.

I opened the door carefully and the first thing I saw was people running away being chased by those robots. I cursed under my breath and held the handle of my scythe tightly. They had finally managed to evade the defense completely, now it was only a matter of time before they took complete control over the Crimson Waste. I must find Double Trouble before this turns into absolute chaos. I left the house and looked around; I was about to run off in search of Double Trouble when some screams caught my attention. I came to a complete stop and looked in the direction of where the screams were heard.

I took a few steps away from the screams, but they were getting louder, I closed my eyes and cursed once again, “me and my stupid moral...” I opened my eyes and ran in the direction where the screams were heard. Again…

It was the market; the robots had surrounded a group of people. And I could see that among those people several were injured. Luckily, it was only two robots. I ran up to them and cut them in half with my scythe.

I looked at them, “Seek shelter” they looked at me for a few seconds confused, but then they ran off. Hopefully to find somewhere to hide in the meantime.

I ran a hand over my face, “Your welcome…” I muttered under my breath. I heard heavy footsteps running towards me and I turned around seeing the group of robots that was heading towards me, I cursed under my breath for the third time today and got in position. Before they got to where I was, I could see Double Trouble coming out of one of the rooftops, kicking the head of one of the robots pushing it towards the others, who fell to the ground. I smiled slightly as they approached me with a little bow with a bag slung over their shoulder.

“Come on… it’s time to go” they said. I nodded and so we both ran through the streets of the Crimson Waste, with them leading the way, but our path was suddenly blocked by those robots. Double Trouble and I hid in a fairly narrow alley to take a breath.

“Then?” I asked in a whisper “What do we do? Are we going back home or…?”

They looked at me, “I found information about Diamond Cave, so we are getting out of here” they explained. I took a quick glance at the six robots that blocked our path.

“You think we can take them?” I asked with a sly smile. They smiled at me and blinked vertically.

“Of course we can…” they said. I nodded in response. We both left our hiding spot. While I was in charge of destroying three of the robots, Double Trouble was in charge of the other three. I easily brandished my scythe sticking it directly into the chest of one of the robots, I took out the scythe and with the handle of it I hit the head of another robot throwing it to the ground. The last robot I was missing started firing its weapon towards where I was and I began to spin my scythe deflecting the attacks. I watched as Double Trouble scuttled behind the robot taking a metal rod, climbing onto their shoulders, and then driving the metal rod hard into the robot's head. The robot fell to the ground and Double Trouble jumped over to where I was. I smiled again as they winked at me.

We started running again until we got to the place where I had hidden the skiff that I had used the last time to pick up Double Trouble in the Fright Zone.

“Come on” Double Trouble got on the skiff and I quickly followed them. I stopped in my tracks for a few seconds and ran my hand through my hair in exasperation.

“Damn it… Double Trouble, we can’t go… I forgot…” I began talking as they looked at me. They took off the bag that hung from their shoulder and threw it at me. I opened the bag confused and could see that inside was the book. I sighed in relief and then looked at Double Trouble in confusion. How the hell had they get it?

“I went back to the house to get you once I knew where Diamond Cave is… but you weren’t there. I imagined that you had gone to find me and since you didn't know that I already knew where Diamond Cave is, I imagined that the book would still be in the house. So I took it” They said as they started to drive the skiff. I sighed in relief and approached them.

“Thanks” I placed my hand on their shoulder and they looked at me with a soft smile.

“You don’t need to thank me, this little favor is going to cost you” they said. I laughed softly and directed my gaze to the great desert that loomed in front of us, without knowing where we were going or what awaited us there, but at least we are together... I looked back one last time, where the smoke was rising in the Crimson Waste, and sighed. I hope everyone is okay... Adora, Bow… Glimmer…


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diamond Cave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the chapter !!!!! A little late because I had some things to do, but here it is! I hope you enjoy!! ^^

The starry sky was what accompanied me and Double Trouble on our long journey. A cold breeze caressing my face as I looked through the dark forest. I heard and exhausted sigh came out of Double Trouble’s mouth and I turned my gaze to my companion who was driving the skiff with a look full of concentration, although they looked a little bit tired, and by a little I mean a lot, that sigh just second ago only confirms it. And it was perfectly understandable, after all we had been traveling for three full days, we had alternated between driving and when it was my turn to drive Double Trouble had to guide me because I didn't know exactly where Diamond Cave was located. On the way we had taken one or another rest to sleep and eat, but we did not stay long in the same place, we did not want to risk that one of those robot sentries would find us on one of their patrols.

I walked up to them and placed one of my hands on their shoulders, they briefly directed their gaze to me and then back on the road. I opened my mouth to say something, but a strange green glow in the distance caught my eye. I directed my sight to the place where the light came from without removing my hand from Double Trouble's shoulder. In the distance I could see how a large hologram of who I assumed was Horde Prime was shown thanks to those strange towers that had appeared at the beginning of the invasion.

“What the hell…?” I muttered under my breath as I frowned.

“Rejoice, Etheria for Prime has come to you” The Hologram said, “Do not fear, for you have been given the opportunity to share in a world soon to be remade in my image, but first you must prove yourselves worthy. Your leader, your She-ra, she’ll see you suffering darkness for her sake. Cast aside this false hero and deliver her to me. Prime sees all, Prime knows all. They will not escape my judgement” Suddenly I felt a hand holding mine and I looked at Double Trouble who with one of their hands was holding mine, the one I had placed on their shoulder, and with the other they continued directing the skiff.

I shifted my gaze back to the Horde Prime hologram looming in the distance and sighed. I felt a gentle squeeze on my hand and smiled. I knew very well what they were trying to do, they were telling me in a few words that I already had things to worry about and not to pay attention to this, but I couldn't help but think about what could happen... Although the girl back in Crimson Waste had told me that She-Ra was missing, almost everyone knows that Adora is She-Ra. As to why She-Ra hasn’t been seen since all this started, was still unknow to everyone.

I sighed in defeat and looked at them once again, “Is it still too far? We both need to rest” I gently squeezed their shoulder as they let out a weary sigh and removed their hand from mine.

“I think we're almost there; I just hope this skiff can last the rest of the trip... I can’t believe how this piece of crap is still going on” and as if it were a bad joke from fate, the skiff began to make a strange noise, followed by smoke coming out of its engine. I cursed under my breath and quickly held up Double Trouble before something bad happened and soon the skiff lost power causing us to crash to the ground. I held Double Trouble tightly to my chest as we shot out of the skiff. I felt my back hit the ground hard and I groaned in pain.

“You had to insult it…” I groaned once again. I felt them get off me, so I opened my eyes to look at them. I saw how they stretched, like nothing had happened seconds before, and then directed a look towards where I was still lying on my back completely sore from the fall, they smiled at me with one of their very characteristic pointy smiles and then extended one of their hands toward me. I took their hand and soon I was standing right next to them. I stretched out and listened how a couple of my joints popped.

I sighed somewhat relieved and caressed the back of my neck gently. “Well I think the rest of the trip will be on foot, but for now we must find a good place to rest for a couple of hours before we continue on our journey”

“Wouldn’t it be better to sleep under the stars? It's much more romantic, don't you think, darling?” they answered mockingly. I shook my head a started walking.

“Not when there can be killer robots lurking in our sleep” I responded, I heard them laugh behind me, but I didn’t bother to look back at them. I adjusted the bag with the book on my shoulder and continued walking through the woods, followed by Double Trouble.

“You’re no fun, my star. But then again, I guess you don’t want competition, that’s why you don’t want to sleep under the stars” they said once again with that tone of mockery impregnated in their voice. I rolled my eyes at this and continued walking. I felt them holding my arm a couple of seconds later and then I heard how they began laughing softly.

After a while, at last Double Trouble remained silent and now the only thing that could be heard was the noise of our footsteps and the occasional sound of some bird or insect that was in the surroundings, this forest was relatively quiet, it was quite awesome. I looked up for a few seconds at the starry sky and sighed. Seeing the stars in that sky was something I wasn't used to, and it wasn't that I was complaining. It just made me feel a little... I don't know... uneasy? or at least I think so, although I don't understand how something so beautiful could make me feel this way, it was something strange...

“So, where would it be a good place to rest for the night?” I heard Double Trouble ask taking me out of my reverie.

I hummed, “A place that is not in plain sight, where the trees can cover us completely” I said thoughtfully.

“Like a cabin in the middle of the woods?” they asked, I stopped in my tracks and directed my gaze to them.

I raised one of my eyebrows slightly confuse, “Yeah… Why do you ask?” I said.

“Because there is one over there, my star” with their free hand they pointed to a place in the forest and I followed it with my gaze. Then, it was there when I saw it, perfectly hidden among the trees, almost imperceptible to anyone's sight was a small cabin. Just the perfect place to spend the night. No one would be able to find us there. I smiled and looked back at Double Trouble.

“Seems like you just found the perfect place to stay for the night” I commented, they nodded while smiling back at me and then we started walking in the direction of the cabin.

When we got close enough to the cabin I realized that it was in a very bad shape, but not enough too stop us from spending the night in it. The cabin had some broken and fallen wooden boards, it also looked somewhat burned and dusty, there were also some roots covering what was the roof of the cabin, which I think was quite convenient in case it rained. Double Trouble released my arm and walked to the entrance of the little cabin. I looked around making sure nothing was spying on us.

I heard a loud knock and quickly turned my gaze to the door of the cabin that was now lying on the ground. Double Trouble turned around to look at me.

“It didn't want to open, so I pushed it down” They explained to me. I heaved a heavy sigh and walked towards them, they entered the cabin completely and I followed closely behind. Inside, the cabin was practically intact, except for the large amount of things that were thrown on the floor or out of place... it looked like an ordinary cabin, a small kitchen, a desk, a bathroom, a bed, a sofa, and a small crib right next to the bed. I don't know why, but a strange knot began to form in my chest, as if something was wrong... I don't know what it is, but it made me feel somewhat anxious and uncomfortable.

I placed a hand on my chest unconsciously as I scanned the small cabin with my gaze, I feel like I've been here before, but I don't remember ever being here, I don't even know exactly where we are. I heard Double Trouble start coughing next to me and I was quickly snapped out of my reverie for the second time in the night. I turned my gaze to them and I could see that they had one hand on the bed and the other one covering their mouth and nose. Around them I could see a cloud of dust, I assumed they wanted to see if the bed could be used and clearly it couldn’t be used. They rushed away from the bed and approached me with a look of disgust.

“I can’t believe I’m going to stay here for the night just for you” they complained. “You owe me so much right now, my star” they began waving their hand in front of their face trying to get the dust away from them. They looked at me with some irritation, but seconds later their gaze changed to one of confusion. “What’s wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost…” I shook my head slightly after hearing their words and then ran my hand over my hair. I looked at them ready to give them an excuse, but the way they were looking at me let me know that I had better tell them the truth.

I sighed heavily and began to go through the room with my eyes again now much slower, “I don’t know… I just have this feeling that I’ve been here before, but I don’t even remember this place at all…” I looked at Double Trouble, who had started doing the same thing that I had done seconds before.

“Maybe a part of you does remember it, why don’t you begin looking at things? Maybe then you will get some flashbacks or something, my star” They said and then looked at me. That was actually a good idea… So, little by little I began to walk through the cabin, running my hands gently over its dusty walls and over the occasional book that lay on the desk, the bed, or the sofa. The more I saw the house, the more familiar it became and the more that knot grew in my chest. Little memories came to me with each thing I touched, but mostly there were quite friendly and warm laughs. I closed my eyes and let that warm feeling envelop me. I smiled unconsciously as I ran my hands over the crib. I stayed still trying to focus on those happy feelings, but suddenly t it was as if everything went dark... it was no longer laughter that was heard, it was just the cry of a baby. I also could no longer feel that warm sensation… the only thing I felt was a heavy feeling of loneliness.

I opened my eyes and looked at Double Trouble, who was looking at me curiously, “I don’t know… It seems that I do know this place, but the only thing that comes to me are some noises and feelings, first laughter with a warm and pleasant feeling, but then it becomes lonely and only the cry of a baby is heard” I explained to them as I sat down on the partially clean sofa dropping my gaze to the wooden floor in resignation.

They sat down, right next to me and crossed one of their legs over the other, “do you have any idea, why that might be?” they asked. I was just about to shake my head, but suddenly it came to me. I looked up slowly and directed my gaze toward Double Trouble in realization.

“Maybe…” I began speaking. “Maybe this is the place where I used to live in, where Castaspella found me… That would explain why I feel this way while been here” They looked at me visibly interested by my words. I looked back at my feet reflecting little by little the information that came to my head. “And because I was just baby I can’t remember been here at all. I just have this feeling…”

“Are you okay?” They placed their hand on my knee and I looked back at them.

I smiled and nodded, “Yeah… just feeling a little bit overwhelmed, but I’m fine.” I placed one of my hands over theirs. “I’m glad you found this place”

“Me too… Now let’s rest. Tomorrow is gonna be exhausting and I need to be well rested to deal with it, darling” They said. I laughed softly and nodded in response. Tomorrow is gonna be a loooong day. I left the bag on the floor just beside the sofa and then took off my cape leaving it over the bag.

We both lay down on that not-so-dusty sofa, each with our heads to one end of the sofa. The position was not favorable at all, and for sure tomorrow we would feel a lot of pain, but it was the only thing we had for now since if we tried to lie down in that dusty bed, it would have been a disaster and shake it anyway, at least the sofa was more or less clean. The damage that this would do to our noses would not be so serious, that as if it were the bed. Also, the sofa was wide enough for the two of us to fit in without being uncomfortable or tight against each other.

I shifted a bit on the couch, unable to stay still, after a few seconds I found a partially comfortable position and closed my eyes ready to fall asleep, but those laughter and that crying just kept appearing in my head, preventing me from getting to sleep. I opened my eyes again and sighed heavily. I sat on the sofa and turned my gaze to Double Trouble, who were already completely asleep, I got up from the sofa and walked towards the door, I left the cabin and sat in what must have been a nice porch before.

I ran a hand through my hair and directed my gaze to the starry sky, maybe that way I could comfort the dream... Although I still couldn't believe that of all the places we could have found, we found this... the place where I spent little time of my childhood.... I saw a bright light streak across the sky and blinked several times in disbelief. It didn't look like a star, it looked like... a ship... I smiled in realization, I think Adora and Bow are already on their way to rescue Glimmer. Well they have their mission and I have mine, I might as well try again to get some sleep.

I looked inside the cabin and smiled slightly ... maybe I can make my mind drift with the feelings of my very vague memories. I went back to the cabin and lay back on the sofa, this time letting myself be carried away by those feelings of warmth and then loneliness until little by little I fell completely asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up hours later just before dawn, I felt a little calmer. I got up from the couch, stretched a bit and went over to Double Trouble to wake them up. I always wake up Double Trouble by gently shaking their shoulder and after a few minutes of doing this they looked at me with some annoyance for a few seconds, then they stretched a little and got up from the sofa. Something very curious that I had learned from the last few days I’ve been with Double Trouble is that one, at first they were a light sleeper, but after a few days they became a heavy sleeper, I assumed that this was because at first they were always pending me, Second… they hated being woken up.

After freshening up and eating a little, we took our things and started our way again through that dense forest. It didn't bother me to leave the cabin behind, I was satisfied with just having found it and it would be nice to try to find the things that that cabin kept, but it is not the time to try to investigate the things that might be there. Although I highly doubt that there was still something intact there. After all that cabin had been abandoned for too many years, anything that had been in there was surely already destroyed.

I ran my hand over my face, trying to remove the incessant itchy feeling that ran through one of my cheeks. I don’t know why I feel itchy… I washed my face with some water to prevent this. I groaned, maybe that itchy feeling is just in my head. That must be it... I looked at Double Trouble in front of me, who was walking on the roots of the trees with those high-heeled boots like it was nothing. I smiled slightly; They looked perfectly fine; it didn't seem like they had any discomfort after sleeping on that dusty old couch.

They turned around to look at me, placing one of their hands on their hips. “Come on, we’re almost there”

I shook my head slightly and walked towards them, “You have been saying that since we got out of Crimson Waste” I said mockingly.

“But this time it’s true, my star. Diamond Cave is just past those trees” They pointed with their free hand at some trees that together formed a great arch, it almost looked like the entrance to Salineas, but made of trees and had no doors. I looked at Double Trouble and we both quickly hurried to reach our destination. After passing the arch made of trees we found what seemed to be a cave in a mountain, hidden perfectly behind a large number of diamonds, much like the blade of my scythe, the entrance was almost impossible to see thanks to the large number of diamonds in front of it... and also, it seemed to be impossible to get in.

I looked at Double Trouble with a raised eyebrow somewhat confused by one of my recent discoveries “They look exactly like the blade in my scythe” I commented.

Double Trouble, on the other hand, did not turn to look at me and they simply stared at the diamonds that adorned the almost hidden entrance to the cave. “I knew that diamond was important when I made the deal with that guy... a blue diamond is very rare and I knew that it was highly unlikely to find one that easily. I also didn't think it could be related to where your ancestors used to live, but I knew there might be something important in that diamond…” they explained. I looked at them curiously as they walked toward one of the diamonds in front on the entrance and then ran their hand over the diamond, as if examining it. “That damn rat... was one of the people I asked first and he didn't tell me anything, it is obvious that this is where he got the diamond” They pointed to a deep hole that was hidden behind a tumult of diamonds. They sighed and ran a hand through their hair, slightly waving it. “I couldn’t expect more from a street rat. Never trust anyone on the Crimson Waste, darling” they looked back at me.

“Then how did you get the information of where Diamond Cave is?” I asked while heading towards them.

“Oh I knew perfectly well that that idiot was lying to me, so I tried to gather information about him and when I had enough, just the day you got beaten up, I went back to him and gently asked for the information, my star” they innocently said.

I raised an eyebrow at their answer, “I'm 100 percent sure it was anything but gentle” they laughed and waved one of their hands in the air.

“Oh come on, my star. I was veeery gentle, I assure you” they winked at me and I just rolled my eyes at them not even a little convinced by their words.

I let out a sigh and headed for the entrance of the cave, Double Trouble in front of me slipped through the diamonds and went through them with ease. I followed them carefully and once inside the cave, my eyes simply couldn't believe what was in front of them. The cave continued along in a straight direction and was completely covered with diamonds, that came out of the earth and the walls. Those diamonds seemed to be emitting their own light, this light illuminated the cave causing it to look sky-blue. This place became a lot more interesting with every time that passed. I can’t imagine what might be up ahead.

“Well.. Now I see why that guy wanted to keep it a secret…” I heard Double Trouble whisper beside me. Their voice, however low that whisper may have been, echoed throughout the cave.

“Let’s go…” My voice echoed through the cave. The two of us began to walk slowly through that cave, with the only sound of our steps and breaths, echoing throughout the cave.

“What are we looking for exactly, my star?” they asked.

“I don’t know… I know there must be something here, anything that is important... Besides, I don't know... I have a strange feeling in my chest...” I placed my hand over my chest as I continued walking. I don't know why, but with each step I took, going deeper into the cave, a feeling like... as if something was pulling me grew in me.

“Is it the same feeling as in the cabin?” they asked visibly curious about what I just told them.

I shook my head slightly, “No… this is like a pull. Something is guiding me, but it’s very subtle… There must be something here for sure. We gotta find it” I explained the best way I could, because in reality I did not know very well what I was feeling, if it was something alerting me or just a product of my imagination because I wanted with all my might that there was something here that would be useful to me.

“So, we just keep going until we find some magical stuff, darling?” they asked. I looked at them and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it” I responded.

“Well, I hope we don’t get lost in here…” I heard them whisper beside me. So do I…

After those words, we continued our way in complete silence, well apart from our footsteps echoing through the cave, something that was really starting to make my hair stand on end. I think I would not bear living in this place for a long time, and I do not believe that my relatives have lived in this place before, there is no chance that they have. This was simply a cave... There must be something beyond this cave...

A light coming from what seemed to be the end of the cave made me stop in my tracks. I looked at Double Trouble next to me, who did exactly the same as me, we nodded and without wasting any more time we started our way in the direction of the rare light that came from the end of the cave. Once we arrived, we were greeted by a strange diamond wall covering the rest of the way. I raised an eyebrow in confusion at the presence of this strange wall and I could see from the corner of my eye, how Double Trouble, apparently equally confused, approached the wall and the placed their hand over it.

They turned around and looked at me, “So, what’s your plan, darling?” they asked. I ran my hand through my hair thoughtfully, how do we move that diamond wall so we can keep going? If it is made of the same material as my scythe I doubt that I can do anything by force at least...

I looked at them and placed my hand on my hip, “I may have an idea…” I said. I walked towards them and touched the diamond wall, It was a smooth and hard surface, quite cool to the touch. “Maybe magic will be able to move this wall or something” I took a couple of steps backs and motioned for Double Trouble to move away from the diamond wall too.

“You mean sorcerers magic or… nightcrawlery magic?” I saw them place one of their hands on their chin, evaluating the situation in front of us as they asked me.

“Sorcery… I don’t think I want to use my Nightcrawler’s abilities in such a reduced place…” I told them imagining how disastrous it would be if I used my powers without being able to control them. It would surely end up destroying the place and on top of that, it would end our lives in the process. I'm not going to risk our lives like that, we have come so far to end up like that... I just hope this works… I closed my eyes and reviewed in my memory each of the runes that Castaspella had taught me and those that I had learned on my own from reading books so much, looking for a rune that would be useful to us in this situation. And soon it came to me, a spell that allows you to open anything. I don't know if it would apply to walls, but it's worth a try. Please, work...

I closed my eyes concentrating, I moved my hands gently creating the rune, feeling how a small stabbing pain began to grow on the back of my neck. I ignored the pain and opened my eyes seeing the rune in front of my hands. I smiled confidently and pushed the rune towards the diamond wall. The moment the rune touched the wall, it changed color, instead of looking sky-blue it changed to a pale pink color and then seconds later it was sky-blue again. I waited for a few seconds for the wall to do more than that, but it didn't, it remained completely static, I cursed under my breath and sighed heavily.

“What do we do now, darling?” They placed a hand on my shoulder and I directed my gaze toward them. “Why don’t you try with YOUR magic?” they suggested.

I looked down at my feet and shook my head slightly, “I don’t know… What if I lose control of it?” I sighed, “It’s too dangerous… Maybe there’s another way for us to get pass this wall” I said. I watched as they took a few steps until they were completely in front of me. I looked up at them. They placed both of their hands on their hips and looked at me reproachfully.

“Come on, just concentrate on the wall, nothing else. Keep your mind blank. I know you can do this without killing us” They said. Well…. That sounds encouraging… They walked again this time to get behind me and began to push me towards the wall without waiting for a response from me. Once they left me in front of the wall they took several steps away. I sighed heavily and looked at the wall in front of me.

“There still might be another way to get through” I said.

“No, there’s not, now remember. Blank” they responded.

Well… here goes nothing. I placed my hand firmly on the cold surface and closed my eyes letting my mind go blank so I could fully focus on my magic and what I wanted it to do, just like Shadow Weaver had told me to do the first time I used my powers. Soon I felt the strange tingling on my fingertips and the immense piercing pain running through the back of my neck. I frowned slightly and clenched my jaw. Open up... Open up and let us pass... I let my power flow towards the wall and I pulled away once the pain was almost unbearable. I dropped to my knees in front of the wall and groaned in pain. I felt some hands place themselves on my back, but I remained in the same position, with my head down, trying to make the pain dissipate in that way.

“You did it… It's working… A hole is opening in the wall” I heard Double Trouble’s impressed voice. I opened my eyes slowly and looked at the hole growing in the middle of the wall. I sighed in relief as I saw that. It worked. Double Trouble helped me up and I leaned on them gently, the pain had lessened a bit, but now I felt a little dizzy so I appreciated their help. We went through the big hole in the wall and once we stepped on the other side it is as if we have entered another universe. We were inside a cave entirely made of Diamond, the ground… the walls… everything was made of diamond. I looked at the ground seeing our reflection in it... Well... now I see why they called it Diamond Cave.

I closed my eyes slightly uncomfortable at the glow the diamonds emitted and groaned in pain, “Damn it… I just hope I don't have to use my powers again so soon” A loud roar echoed throughout the cave making me alert. I looked at Double Trouble, who was looking back at me. We both turned our gaze to the wall, that was now closed. I looked down at the diamond floor and placed my hand on my forehead.

“Shi…”Another roar echoed throughout the cave interrupting me.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deep inside the cave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I know that I have been absent these last months, but I am fine! Don't worry! I was just having some trouble writing this chapter, but here it is! I hope you enjoy it! Also I think you already noticed that the number of episodes will be 25 (I think...), and if you didn't notice it... Surprise!
> 
> I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors in the chapter (it is somewhat difficult to write on the phone). Also watch the end of the chapter for another little announcement! Now enjoy! I love you!

We continued our way through that diamond tunnel at a slow pace, next to me, Double Trouble walked with extreme caution, every so often stopping as if to see if they heard something or could make out something at the end of the hall. And I didn't blame them, I too was quite nervous since that roar had echoed throughout the damn cave after we passed the diamond wall. I wasn't sure what kind of animal or creature could have made that roar, but what I was sure of was that whatever that thing was, it was in the cave with us and it was possibly huge. So with many more reasons we had to be cautious, to my bad luck, the dizziness and nausea from having used my powers was still present in my body and from time to time I needed to lean against one of the walls or just sit on the floor hugging my knees, praying that the feeling of nausea and dizziness would go away for a few minutes so we could move on.

I don't know why I kept feeling this way, normally these kinds of symptoms don't take long to disappear. I sighed heavily and placed a hand on my forehead feeling again terrible nausea. I really want these damn adverse effects to disappear at once... I closed my eyes tightly and at a slow pace I approached one of the walls leaning slowly against it, little by little when I noticed that the nausea was not going to disappear any time soon, I began sliding down the wall slowly. Once I was sitting completely on the floor, I hugged my knees and tried to ignore the nausea.

I heard a few soft footsteps approach me and then I felt a hand resting on my hair caressing it carefully, a gesture that was quite pleasant and helped me relax. After several minutes of Double Trouble continuing to stroke my hair gently, I finally started to feel better. I raised my head softly and looked at Double Trouble with a grateful smile, they smiled slightly in response and then proceeded to sit next to me in silence. I think this was a good time to rest, I just hope that thing didn’t take this hall. After spending so much time walking since we arrived, I think we deserved at least a break.

I turned my gaze to Double Trouble, who was watching the wall in front of us carefully. Although I suppose they are not actually seeing it, I think they are quite deep in thought right know. I sighed slightly and placed my hand on their shoulder, this caused them to come out of their reverie and to direct their curious gaze at me.

“care to share?” I asked softly, I knew perfectly well that there was something that had been bothering them for a long time since we had crossed the diamond wall, but since I was a little indisposed, I could not focus on trying to find out what it was.

They sighed after a few seconds passed by, “I’m just concerned… That’s all…” They responded.

“Concerned… about?” I asked. I didn’t know why I asked that, I know what they’re concerned about… I’m concerned about that too.

They sighed, “You know... the thing that could have done that roar... I don't think it's safe for us to be here... You still want to go on, darling...?” they asked sounding slightly unsure. “I mean, maybe there’s another way to get more information about your relatives… A safer way, my star” They turned to look at me and I could see that their face was adorned with an expression of concern.

I directed my gaze to the wall in front of us, “I don’t think there’s another way, Double Trouble… But don't worry, we're both going to get out of this together, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you... You... are very important to me... and I don't know what I would do if I or something else came to hurt you” I mumbled under my breath. With my gaze still fixed on the diamond wall in front of us, I didn't dare look at Double Trouble as I could feel a slight heat on my cheeks, which could only mean one thing. I had blushed for having told them how important they were to me. I lowered my gaze to the floor when I didn't hear a response from them and I moved one of my hands to caress the back of my neck nervously. Although I don't even know why I'm nervous, it's not like I've confessed to them. I stopped my hand in its tracks when I realized my own thoughts... My heart began to beat rapidly in my chest, and for a second I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I mean… I knew very well that I had a crush for Double Trouble... but is it still a crush or... something else...? Maybe something that goes deeper than just a little crush…?

A hand rested on my shoulder pulling me out of my reverie and I turned my gaze automatically to Double Trouble, their cheeks were slightly darkened. I saw them open their mouths to speak, but before they could say anything another roar echoed through the cave.

We looked at each other for several seconds in silence and then I got up, offering a hand to help them up. “I think we need to keep moving” I said. They nodded and took my hand. Once Double Trouble was standing next to me, we both started our way again without any direction. The only thing guiding us at this time was my mere instinct, which I hope with all my heart that didn’t fail and guide us exactly to whatever is making those roars.

Silence reigned between us again, but it was not an uncomfortable silence, Double Trouble and I, now that I think about it, have never had any of those awkward silences and I think it’s because we both fully trust each other and merely enjoy each other's company without the need to say something.

Little by little as we got deeper and deeper into the cave, new paths appeared and with each path we chose by mere instinct it’s as if whatever was making those roars was getting closer, or in the worst case, that we were getting close to it. I stopped in my tracks once we were in front of four roads, that looked exactly the same. Exasperated, I ran a hand over my hair and grunted, it seems like this place is endless, this damn place is like a freaking labyrinth, everything is exactly the same. It’s driving me nuts! We have been walking for hours and it seems that we will never get anywhere! I growled again at that thought and began pacing around the place, I didn’t know what to do... What if the corridors don’t lead anywhere? We would be trapped here until we die. I need to calm down... I can't do anything if I'm upset. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes trying to regulate my breathing, calming down little by little.

“Weren't we here a little while ago?” I heard Double Trouble say. I opened my eyes instantly and looked back at them with a frown plastered in my face, not exactly angry at them, but at this place.

“What do you mean?” I took a couple of steps towards them and stopped right beside them, while they watched the room carefully. Like they were searching for something specific.

“yes, we had already been here… I know all this place looks the same, but there are some little things that are different” they began pacing around the room, as their eyes scanned the room. I followed them closely with my gaze until they stopped beside a couple of diamonds that were stacked against one of the walls. I saw how one of their hands stroked the surface of one of the diamonds where there was what seemed to be a very small crack. Practically imperceptible.

They turned to look at me and I sighed. “We have been walking in circles… But how…? We kept walking straight, how did we end up back here?”

“Seems like this place have a couple of tricks… There is definitely something important in here…” Double Trouble said. I nodded in agreement; this had only confirmed that this place was hiding something.

“We need to find which is the right path to take… but how? They’re all the same…” I looked at the four forks in front of us…

“I don’t know… What if you use your power?” I looked at them in disbelieve. If I used my power again, it was very possible that this time I would end up unconscious and with that thing following us I don't think it's a good idea... But I don't think we have any other option; we can't keep walking aimlessly.

“Fine…” I said reluctantly “But If I faint and that thing that has been following us gets here, you better take me with you or I’ll haunt you for eternity” I snorted as I heard them laugh in respond to my threat.

“Come on, I’ll never leave you to die here alone. I’ll take your unconscious body and use it to distract the beast so I can escape, darling” they laughed. I sighed and shook my head. This answer didn’t surprise me at all. At least they will take my body… so they could distract that beast… I shook my head slightly trying to remove that possibility from my head and slowly approached the four paths.

I took a deep breath and crouched down, placing my hand on the diamond floor. I didn't know exactly what to do, but I was going to put into practice what Shadow Weaver had told me before, to focus on my magic and what I wanted it to do. This time without closing my eyes and staring directly at my hand, I concentrated... Focusing all my magic on the palm of my hand.

Lead us on the right path, was the thought that was spinning non-stop in my head. The classic pain began to appear on the back of my neck, I tried to ignore it as best I could and concentrated only on finding the right path. Suddenly, little black threads came out from under my hand and began to slide towards one of the paths. For a few seconds I stayed there in shock looking at the direction where the threads had gone. The three times I had used my powers, I had never seen them in action -not counting what happened in the palace with Glimmer obviously, since I was so unstable that I didn’t know what I was doing- I always had my eyes closed... Those little threads that were now in front of one of the paths were my shadow. To confirm it, I stood up and looked under me expecting to see my shadow, but finding absolutely nothing... I had no shadow.

“You continue to impress me, Star” I looked back at them and smiled softly. Smile that was quickly erased by a strong pain in the back of my neck that made me fall to my knees on the floor. I clenched my jaw with force and with one of my hands I held the back of my neck with force trying to make the pain go away without success. Slender hands rested on my shoulders and a whisper could be heard in the distance, but all I heard was a loud incessant beeping in my ears.

Little by little I was leaning on who I assumed was Double Trouble, the pain seemed like it would never go away and with every minute that passed I felt that at any moment I would faint. After what seemed like hours of suffering to me, the pain gradually disappeared. I opened my eyes little by little, realizing that I was practically lying on Double Trouble’s lap, who was simply stroking my hair softly. I directed my eyes to their face and saw that they were watching each of the paths carefully.

“It’s getting worst…” I mumbled softly as I closed my eyes once again. Their hand stopped abruptly and I opened my eyes to look at them.

“You think… Maybe this pain you feel is because of the seal…?” they asked, I know perfectly well that they know that this seal is the cause of my pain, but that would only mean one thing… The seal is killing me... It’s absorbing my power every time I use it.

“You know as well as me that it is…” I whispered while letting my gaze wander around the room where we were. My gaze stopped on my shadow a few meters away from us, which was still pointing the corridor that we must follow to reach our destination, whatever that destination may be.

“Then why are we doing this…?” I looked at Double Trouble “Why aren’t we looking for a way to break that seal? That’s what we should be doing right know” They looked down at me with a serious look, but I could swear that for a second it was a look of concern.

I sighed and looked back at my shadow “There’s no way to break the seal… That’s what the book said” Feeling a little better already, I sat up slowly. I held my head when I felt a little dizziness, but when I felt better again, I turned around to look at them “It’s a waste of time…” I mumbled under my breath letting my gaze fall to the diamond floor.

“Then you’re just gonna give up? I can’t understand you… first you wanted to do whatever it took to break the seal and now you want to let the seal kill you?” their voice was full of disbelief and I couldn't do anything but look at the ground without knowing what to say to them.

After a few seconds, I opened my mouth to talk, but I was suddenly interrupted by a loud roar right behind us coming from the recent corridor we have just come from. Double Trouble and I got up automatically, I reached my hand towards my back, but I couldn’t feel my scythe, damn it! Where is it?! I looked around frantically trying to find it until I saw it lying on the floor, I quickly reached down for it and held it in my hands in an offensive position, ready for what was about to come.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” I felt Double Trouble's hands hold my arm tightly trying to pull me away from danger. “We gotta get out of here before that thing finds us!” they exclaimed.

“No, that thing has been following us since we passed that wall, we can’t keep running, we have to kill that thing!” I said, with my gaze still fixed on the corridor.

“And how, if I can ask, do you plan to do that?!” without having to turn around to see them I knew very well that they were terrified “Don’t you remember? About five minutes ago you were unconscious! How do you plan to fight with that thing?! I get it that you want to throw your life away! But I want to live! Thank you very much!” just as I was going to reply to Double Trouble, a small black mass appeared jumping out of the hallway, stopping two meters from us.

I blinked several times in confusion while looking at the mass, “Uhhh…” I mumbled under my breath, the grip on the handle of my scythe loosening slightly as I looked at the black mass. “What is that suppose to be?” I asked in confusion.

“Well…” Double Trouble release my arm and I saw from the corner of my eye how they placed one of their hands on their hip. “This is anticlimactic… I expected something more… I don’t know… Big?” just as those words left their mouth the strange black mass began to move erratically. I held the handle of my scythe again tightly and took a couple of steps back, feeling Double Trouble's hands on my shoulders as we backed away.

“The hell is that thing…?” I whispered, confused by what was in front of us. The black mass suddenly expanded itself and began morphing into what appeared to be a big black wolf.

The wolf howled with ferocity and we covered our ears in slight pain as that piercing howl echoed throughout the whole cave, when the wolf stopped howling I quickly took my hands off my ears, turned around and grabbed Double Trouble’s arm. Double Trouble is right, there is no way I can fight that thing! Without wasting more time we started running toward the hall my shadow was pointing, as the wolf ran behind us. I clenched my jaw and cursed silently, there’s also no way we can escape from this thing, whatever the hell it is. Maybe I could try and stop it, how? I looked around the halls as we ran trying to find anything that could stop that thing from catching us, but the only thing I saw were those diamonds.

“Damn it!” I cursed this time loudly. I released Double Trouble’s hand and they looked back at me in surprise. “Keep running! I’m gonna use my powers to stop it” they looked at me with uncertainty, but nodded nevertheless. I saw them continue running and I sighed in relief, at least they’re out of harm.

I turned around seeing how that thing was getting closer and closer to me. I frowned in determination and raised my hand in the air. Focus… I gotta focus. Instantly a barrier made of my shadow appeared in front of me and I looked at it in surprise, that was a lot faster than the last times, I guess I’m getting the hang of it. Something slammed against the barrier and I backed up, it’s not gonna hold him too long. I turned around and began running once again pushing that dizzy feeling to the back of my head, if I fall unconscious I’m gonna be dead and Double Trouble too.

I kept running until I saw Double Trouble in the room ahead, what are they doing why aren’t they running? I frowned in confusion, but as soon as I took one step inside I saw why Double Trouble was no longer running, we were in a room without exit and not just that... The floor in this room seemed to be made of a thinner diamond than the others and was also completely transparent letting me see a lot of holes and peaks made of diamond at the bottom of this room. I walked toward Double Trouble at a slow pace, my eyes never leaving the floor. Worried that it might break under my weight.

“We’re trapped” I heard them say, I looked up at them once I found myself right in front of them. Double Trouble looked back at me with a somewhat worried expression. “What’s your plan? That thing is gonna be here sooner or later” I clicked my tongue and looked at the hall I had just came out from, they’re right. My barrier is not gonna hold that thing for a long time and I don’t think I can make another barrier, I’m exhausted… But I don’t get it, my shadow pointed in this direction there has to be another way…

My eyes wandered around the room trying to find another way out, “There must be another way out of here and we need to find it fast, I don’t know how long my barrier is gonna hold on” I told them feeling myself getting breathless, with every second that passed by I could feel like my body was weakening little by little and that could only mean one thing my barrier would soon break. We need to act fast.

Double Trouble and I stepped away from each other and went toward different walls with the same goal in mind, finding a damn way out of this place. I placed my hand on top of the wall and closed my eyes, it was different. It not like the one at the beginning, my powers won’t be able to do anything with it. I sighed in disappointment and let my head lean against the wall.

I backed up from the wall and looked at Double Trouble, who was looking down at the floor. I took a step toward them and suddenly I felt as if something inside me had broken in a million pieces, I fell on my knees on the floor and placed my hand on my chest trying to make the pain go away unsuccessfully. I closed my eyes tightly and clenched my jaw, damn it… damn it! A hand touched my shoulder and I opened my eyes slightly looking over my shoulder, I groaned in pain and stood up with Double Trouble’s help.

“Your shadow came back…” they said, I looked down at my feet and frowned, my shadow had indeed come back. Then that thing will be here in a few seconds. A roar echoed in the hallway and I tightened my grip on the handle of my scythe, that was miraculously still on my hand.

I took a step away from Double Trouble and looked straight at the hallway, “Get back, we are gonna get out of here in one piece” my head was spinning from all the power I had used, but I need to focus, we gotta get out of here and if the only way to do that is by defeating that thing… I’m gonna defeat it.

The big black wolf stepped into the room and stopped a few meters away from us, I took a deep breath and looked at it, that thing measured about 4 meters tall, his ‘fur', or whatever the hell that was, was pitch black, its eyes were different one was completely white like a pearl and the other one was completely turquoise and tied around his neck, almost hidden beneath its fur appeared to be a small key made of diamond. I narrowed my eyes trying to focus my left eye on that tiny key, that’s our way out.

 _“You’re not worthy! Go back!”_ the wolf said with a deep and hoarse voice. I swallowed dryly and held my scythe tightly. What is it talking about? Not worthy?

“What do you mean worthy?” I asked at it with a serious expression. The wolf roared and took a step forward.

 _“You’re not worthy! You fake NightCrawler!”_ The great wolf pounced on me with one of its huge paws raised. I clenched my jaw, it was too fast I don’t have enough to dodge… it will crush me. I pressed my feet firmly against the ground and raised my scythe, stopping the impact just in time. The wolf then started pressing his paw down little by little and I tried with all my might to stop him, so much was the force of that thing that I could feel it pushing me back a little. I looked at the wolf’s neck and clicked my tongue, we need the key.

I glanced at Double Trouble from the corner of my eye and noticed that they had also apparently noticed the presence of the key around the beast's neck. They looked at me and I nodded, they nodded in response and I returned my gaze to the beast in front of me. I gathered all my strength and pushed the paw away from me with the help of my scythe, the wolf backed up and growled at me in anger. I smirked, and you’re about to get angrier…

I ran quickly towards the beast, who raised his paw once again ready to crush me. I narrowed my eyes and before the paw fell on me I waved my scythe with strength cutting off his entire paw. The beast yelped in pain as his paw fell to the ground and I smiled in satisfaction. Now it’s the chance! Without one of its paws it would be hard for it to focus on Double Trouble. I looked back as Double Trouble ran toward me. I kneeled down just in time for them to jump on my back taking the necessary impulse to reach the beast’s neck. I looked up and saw how they managed to rip the key from its neck with success. I got up as soon as I saw Double Trouble fall gracefully to the floor only to be hit squarely by the same paw I had cut off of that thing throwing them against one of the walls of the room.

I ran quickly towards them catching them before they could hit the wall, instead it was my back that hit the wall making me gasp in pain. We fell to the ground and I half-opened my eyes with difficulty, I think I broke a couple of ribs. The wolf rushed toward us and I pushed Double Trouble out of the way. I raised my scythe and his paw quickly impacted on it pushing me toward the wall. I closed my eyes in pain as the paw kept pushing me against the wall, which I could hear was beginning to crack under the pressure.

Crack… I opened my eyes in realization, If the floor breaks, who knows what will happen to us… and if this stupid wolf keeps pushing against this wall my head is gonna crack open! Out of nowhere my shadow separated from my body and hit the chest of the beast, throwing it away from me. I gasped for air in exhaustion and looked around the room trying to find Double Trouble, who was sitting as far away from the beast as they could.

I patted my shoulder to verify that the bag with the book was still in place, but such was my surprise when I didn't feel it on my shoulder. I got up hastily and searched frantically with my eye for the bag, which unfortunately was lying in the middle of the room. I clicked my tongue and frowned, the bag must have been blown off on impact.

I ran toward Double Trouble and placed my hand on their shoulder, “you okay?” I asked in concern.

They looked at me and nodded, “Yeah, Thank you for taking the hit for me” they thanked me.

I nodded, “It’s okay… Let’s get the bag and then out of here. My shadow will keep that damn thing occupied” I looked over at the beast that was being constantly attacked by my shadow. That would give us time. I helped Double Trouble get up and then we both ran toward the bag, but I was stopped dead in my tracks as a piercing pain appeared on the back of my neck. I yelled in pain at the same time as my shadow came back to my body. I placed my hand on the back of my neck holding tightly and groaned, Couldn't that stupid seal have held on for a few more seconds before acting ?! I half-opened my eyes seeing how the beast ran quickly towards the book just like Double Trouble. They are not going to make it... I looked down at the floor and frowned thoughtfully, this floor is thinner... If I use enough strength I’m sure my scythe will be able to pass right through it. I frowned full of determination and tightened the grip on my scythe, without thinking I raised it high and then nailed it on that thin floor. The floor quickly began to completely crack beneath us. I pulled the scythe off the floor and ran to Double Trouble.

I could see how the beast grazed the bag pushing it away before the ground began to crack under it, the beast jumped away as soon as it realized that pieces of the floor began to fall in those holes and others were shattered against the peaks. The floor under Double Trouble and I started to fall too, so I quickly nailed my scythe on one of the walls, so as not to fall on those holes or worse l, while I held Double Trouble’s hand with my free hand. I groaned in pain as my chest hit the wall and I looked down at Double Trouble to make sure they were okay. They looked up at me clearly worried by the position we were in, and who wouldn't? If I let go of my scythe we will sure fall into our imminent death... Now the question is, how the hell do we get out of this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I don't know when I'll be able to publish the next chapter because I'm in a place where I have very little internet, so I have no idea when I can publish again, it could be at the end of the month or next month, who knows. 
> 
> And I also want to thank Lilli for their comments that make me feel motivated to continue this fanfic. :D Thank you very much for your support, I am happy that you like my story. <3


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